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Agenda Setting

The media may not tell you what to think. But it is remarkably good at telling you what to think about.

There are thousands of things happening in the world right now. You're aware of maybe five. Who chose those five? Not you. The stories that dominate headlines become the topics you discuss, worry about, and form opinions on. The stories that get no coverage might as well not exist. This is agenda setting — and it's one of the most powerful forms of influence precisely because it's invisible.

You can argue both sides of any issue in the news. That feels like freedom. But you never question why that issue is in the news while something else isn't. The debate feels open, but the menu was fixed before you sat down.

Neil Postman warned that television turned public discourse into entertainment — only the most dramatic, visual, emotionally charged stories survive the selection process. Today, algorithms have intensified this. What trends isn't what matters. It's what generates clicks, shares, and engagement. The agenda is set not by importance but by profitability.

Pay attention not just to what's being covered, but to what's missing. The absence of a story is itself a story — you just have to notice the silence.

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