When major news happens, the
world’s mass media organizations take notice. Whether it’s the President of the United States making an announcement or a severe storm battering a region, when it’s a story that affects people, the news media is on alert to cover it, providing viewers with the facts and information they need to understand what is happening. But sometimes it may seem, with so much media focus and scrutiny on a single event, that the mass media is missing or even ignoring other important stories. This
is the crux of the agenda-setting theory. This theory refers to how the media’s news coverage determines which issues become the focus of public attention. First introduced in 1972 by college professors, Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw, they found in surveying North Carolina voters during the 1968 U.S. presidential
election that what people thought were the most important issues were what the mass media reported as the most critical. Thus, agenda-setting theory was born, built on the notion that the mass media sets the agenda for what people should care about. The agenda-setting theory rests on two basic
assumptions. The first is that the media filters and shapes what we see rather than just reflecting stories to the audience. An example of this is seeing a sensational or scandalous story at the top of a broadcast as opposed to a story that happened more recently or one that affects more people, such as an approaching storm or legislative tax reform. The second assumption is that the more attention the media gives to an issue, the more likely the public will consider that issue
to be important. Another way to look at it: Mass media organizations aren’t telling us what to think or how we should feel about a story or issue, but are giving us certain stories or issues that people should think more about. There is psychological and scientific merit to the agenda-setting theory. The more a story is publicized in the mass media, the more it becomes prominently stored in individuals’ memories when they’re asked to recall it, even if it doesn’t specifically affect them
or register as a prominent issue in their minds. There are three types of agenda setting: One of the issues with the agenda-setting theory is that it is difficult to measure. Research on the theory has been largely inconclusive in establishing a causal relationship between public prominence and media coverage. And in 2018, with the worldwide influence of the internet and social media, where
almost everyone can find news they’re looking for instead of being constrained by just relying on one or two sources, it’s harder to convince others that the mass media is setting the agenda. In addition, the theory doesn’t work for people who have already made up their minds. For example, someone might believe that his or her elected official was the right choice for office, despite numerous compelling reports to the contrary presented by the mass media. In recent years, the mass media’s relationship with the public has evolved, with social media being used as a way to both inform and spread news. Learn more about how the public interacts with mass media with Alvernia University’s fully online B.A. in Communication. You’ll learn about media theory, mass communication law, ethics and
more in one of two tracks: strategic communications or public relations and advertising. Take advantage of small classes taught by professors with real-world experience and who have your success in mind. Our flexible online schedule allows you to balance your studies with your busy life. This chapter provides a review of the role of the media in constructing and reinforcing stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes toward older Australians. 4.1 The context of media consumptionBefore providing detailed analysis of the perceived influence of the media on the formation of stereotypes, it is important to review media consumption as reported by community and business respondents. Not surprisingly, there are differences between younger and older respondents (see Table 8). Younger respondents are generally more likely to consume digital media and to engage with social/peer-to-peer platforms than older participants, including:
Older respondents are more likely to engage in more traditional media, including:
Table 8: Media consumption by audience
Question: During a typical week, do you...
There also appears to be some link between the consumption of social media and negative attitudes. Those who are more likely to be classified as holding predominantly negative attitudes (including younger respondents, university graduates, and full time workers) are also more likely to be accessing social media (such as Twitter and Facebook), when compared to those who are not classified in this manner. Findings from the audit of social media identify that peaks in social media discussion about older people are focused on reports of older people as the victims of crime, or as otherwise physically vulnerable or at risk of illness. 4.2 The invisibility of older peopleDiscussions during the qualitative stage (focus groups) indicate that many older people feel some sense of invisibility. The media is seen as a contributor to this sense of invisibility, with many of the older community members in the focus groups feeling that older Australians are invisible within the media. This includes invisibility from the perspective of stories and also from the viewpoint of role models and media leaders:
These qualitative comments are supported by quantitative findings from a scan of Australian media content, with this scan indicating that older people are clearly underrepresented in the media. This is the case across editorial news, current affairs content and advertising. From analysis of a sample that was drawn from the highest-rating and widest-circulating outlets:
Given that in 2012, people aged 65 or more made up 14.2% of the Australian population and people aged 55 or more made up 25.6%, this analysis indicates that older people are invisible in the media relative to their presence in the population. 4.3 The influence of the mediaAlmost all participants in the focus groups felt that the media has an impact on attitudes and behaviours and many felt that the impact is negative. Some feel that the media has a strong and pervasive impact on views about older people and that it is often at the heart of views and perceptions which are commonly held:
“We subconsciously absorb it as well and then when you see an older person all these things come up. You don’t know where they come from but they’ve come from everything that you have seen.” (18-25 years)
However, for others the strength of the media in influencing views depends on the degree to which someone has contact with an older person. If someone knows an older person (e.g. their grandfather), then this individual will hold views based on their experience, with limited influence from the media. If an individual does not have contact with an older person, then perceptions will be limited to those available in the media:
Others also feel that personal experience reinforces positive opinions of ageing and old age, while negative perceptions are often reinforced through the media. The main example given in relation to this interaction is the perception that older people are more likely to be victims of crime. Most who feel that this statement is true do not personally know an older person who has been a victim, although all have seen stories in the media and feel that victimisation is a common occurrence. In contrast, their reaction to the stereotype that all old people are the same is vehement in its rebuttal, simply because their grandparents had been interesting, different, fun etc, and different from other older people they knew. Personal experience with someone older overcomes the issues of homogeneity and invisibility discussed in relation to the media. To understand better the relative impact of the media on negative attitudes, all respondents in the quantitative study who agreed or agreed strongly with specific negative attitudes were asked to indicate how much influence different information sources had on the formation of these attitudes. In addition to media (including visual media, print media and advertising), the relative impact of the following were assessed:
Across all negative attitudes, personal experience, stories seen in the media and stories read in the media are the strongest contributors. While influences including cultural background, educational attainment, colleagues and Australia’s youth culture do have some impact, this influence is muted, with generally less than one third of respondents feeling that these aspects have an influence on their attitudes about older people. In line with findings from the qualitative phase (focus groups), across most attitudes, personal experience is considered to be the main driver behind attitude formation in most instances. This is particularly the case with attitudes related to cognitive deficiencies of older people, where more than seven in ten respondents feel that their personal experience has contributed to their beliefs about older people. While findings from the media scan do not indicate a skew toward stories focusing on the negative cognitive abilities of older people, discussions during the qualitative phase indicate that commercial programming (particularly drama series) is often seen to show older people as forgetful. As such, there is some scope for the media to assist in breaking down these attitudes by providing alternative views of ageing in commercial programming. It is clear that the media (both print and visual) has a key role in the formation of several commonly perceived stereotypes about older people:
“Kids are like sponges.” (18-25 years)
Other attitudes where a majority of respondents feel that the media has contributed to their perceptions of older people include:
“You hear about it in the media – if an old lady has been broken into and she’s been hit on the head you are going to hear about it in all the media and the papers and stuff – whereas young people are getting assaulted all the time but I think the media hones into it more [when it is an older person].” (35-54 years) Table 9: Influence of specific levers on key attitudes (order of most frequently mentioned by those aged 18-54 years)
Question: Thinking about how younger people view older people, how much of an influence do the following have on these perceptions. Business respondents were asked about the overall influence of different information sources as opposed to the influence of these sources on specific attitudes. Findings from business participants can be seen in Figure 8. As with the broader community, personal experience is the strongest driver of perceptions of older people, with 65% of all businesses either agreeing or agreeing strongly that their experience has influenced their perceptions. Education is the second most influential factor, with 43% feeling that this has an influence. Around one third of business respondents feel that cultural background (34%) or work colleagues (33%) have an influence on their perceptions of older people. Business respondents are least likely to feel that stories they see in the media (15%), stories they read in the media (15%) or advertising (14%) have an influence. There are few differences by demographics in perceptions of influence for business respondents. Figure 8: Business influence of specific levers on key attitudes about older people
Question: Thinking about how younger people view older people, how much of an influence do the following
have on your perceptions. “Even like presenters and stuff on TV have an expiry date where they are no longer useful.” (18-25 years) 4.4 Media and advertising portrayal of older peopleTo understand how respondents perceive media and advertising portrayals of older people, all respondents were asked to think about everything they had seen and heard in media and advertising and to describe words most commonly used to portray older people. The findings for media generally, and advertising specifically, are provided below. (a) MediaFigure 9 presents the themes most commonly mentioned by respondents in relation to the portrayal of older people in the media generally. Descriptors associated with negative portrayals of the cognitive or physical capabilities of older people are often mentioned, with many respondents feeling that the media portrays older people as forgetful, frail, slow, fragile, sick or grumpy. These findings are reflected in the media scan, where ‘unknown’ older people are most often seen to be portrayed as frail and weak, as victims of crime or as in poor health. There is also a correlation between perceived portrayals of older people in the media and the most commonly held negative attitudes in relation to older people. This reflects the potential influence of the media identified in section 4.3. Respondents are most likely to agree that older people are forgetful and vulnerable, aligning with the most commonly used descriptors for the portrayal of older people in the media. These findings suggest that community members are taking on board the portrayals currently available in the media and that this portrayal may be influencing deeply held attitudes about older people. There are no real differences in perceptions of media portrayal between business and the broader community. Figure 9: How older people are portrayed in the media The size of each word is directly proportionate to the number of mentions of that theme.
Question: Thinking about everything you see and hear in the media (including on TV,
online, on the radio and in newspapers and magazines), how does the media portray older people? Critically, when asked whether the portrayal of older people in the media is a fair representation of the older population in Australia, more than half (61%) say that it is not. This suggests possible misalignment between how community members view members of the older cohort and how the media portrays older people. There are relatively few demographic differences in relation to those who feel that the media portrayal of older people is not fair. This perception is uniform across almost all sub-groups. However, those classified as holding predominantly negative attitudes are less likely to feel that the portrayal is unfair (54%), when compared to those with more positive attitudes in relation to ageing (64%). Older respondents (65+) and CALD respondents are also more likely to feel that the portrayal is unfair when compared to younger and non-CALD respondents. Supporting these macro-level findings, one in five or fewer community respondents (see Table 10) agree that:
Older respondents are consistently more likely to disagree with all statements and the findings for business respondents are in line with those observed for the broader community. Table 10: Perceptions of media portrayal – net level of agreement
Question: And how much do you agree or disagree that...? Base: All respondents (Community, n=2,020), (18 – 34, n=175), (25 – 34, n=436), (35 – 44, n=452), (45 – 54, n=448), (55 – 64, n=234), (65+, n=275) (Business, n=504). Other demographic differences are also apparent:
Linked to findings from the media scan and qualitative research, community respondents are most likely to feel that the unfair representation of older Australians is a result of a lack of diversity of older people in the media (21% of all those who feel the portrayal is unfair). A further 10% feel that the unfairness is a result of media stereotypes and similar proportions feel that unfair portrayals are the result of a lack of focus on the contributions older people can make (9%) and the fact that older people can still be healthy and active (8%). (b) AdvertisingThe perceived portrayal of older people in advertising appears to differ from that of the broader media (see Figure 10). While aspects of cognitive and physical deficiencies continue to feature, descriptions of products specific to the older audience are also present (including insurance and funerals). Interestingly, positive descriptors such as happy, caring, funny, wise and active are more likely to be associated with advertising than with the media more generally. Victimisation is less frequently mentioned for advertising than it is for media more generally. There is little variation between findings for business and consumer audience. Figure 10: How older people are portrayed in advertising The size of each word is directly proportionate to the number of mentions of that theme.
Question: Thinking about advertising that you have seen (including on TV, online,
on the radio and in newspapers and magazines), what three words describe how older people are portrayed in advertising? When asked whether the portrayal of older people in advertising is a fair representation of the older population, almost half of all community respondents (47%) said that it is not. A higher proportion of business respondents do not feel the portrayal in advertising is fair (65%). This supports the conclusion that there is a misalignment between how members of the community see the older cohort and, in this case, how advertising portrays older people. Again, reflecting the findings from the media scan and qualitative research, community respondents are most likely to feel that the unfair representation of older Australians is a result of a lack of diversity of older people in advertising (19% of all those who feel the portrayal is unfair). A further 15% feel that the unfairness is a result of a lack of focus on the fact that older people can still be healthy and active. 8% feel that the unfair portrayal is the result of an overly rosy image of ageing, 7% feel that it is a result of a focus on funeral advertising. As with perceptions of the media, there are relatively few differences by demographic and sub-group about the fairness of advertising portrayals of older people. Again, those classified as holding predominantly negative attitudes are less likely to feel that the portrayal is unfair (39%), when compared to those with more positive attitudes in relation to ageing (48%). 4.5 Preferred portrayalsRespondents who feel that current media or advertising portrayal of older Australians is notfair (1,242 respondents) were asked to describe how they would likeolder people portrayed in the media. Across both media and advertising, respondents want to see one of three things:
“The same as any other social group – many great things to offer, and some not so great! Realistically so to speak”. “As being capable of contributing, being active, interested and willing to participate”.
Endnotes
|