In communication theory, agenda setting is classified under communication effects theory, referring to how mass media emphasizes an issue through the direction and volume of its coverage. There is a significant correlation between issues emphasized in the media and the issues the audience perceives as important, with media playing a crucial role in this process. The more the media reports on something, the more the public perceives it as important.
The formal proposal of agenda setting theory came when McCombs and Shaw published "The Agenda Setting Function of Mass Media" in the Public Opinion Quarterly in 1972, studying the 1968 U.S. presidential election and surveying voters in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They found a strong correlation between the issues media reported and the issues voters considered most important.
However, theories are static while society is dynamic. Agenda setting originally existed in a unidirectional media landscape where media transmitted content to the public. Thus, it was believed that only mass media could set agendas for the public. Today, however, communication between media and audiences is not only bidirectional but multidirectional. Supported by the "death of the author" theory, the public interprets content differently. We can now observe that agenda setting no longer limits itself to media setting agendas for the public—instead, the "media" itself has become the subject of agenda setting.
How so? We must understand the workflow to dig deeper and discover how to embed "agenda setting" within media coverage
The basic media workflow can be outlined as follows: gathering topics, fact-checking, submission to superiors (gatekeeper mechanism), and publication.
When gathering topics, reporters personally judge whether a topic will appeal to their supervisors. To ensure personal news output (essentially their performance metrics), reporters themselves consider whether the content aligns with the company's position and how to package it for publication. This is the reporter's thought process when evaluating whether a news event deserves coverage.
From a commercial perspective, your target audience (TA) is paramount. In the past, TA referred to consumers, but in media marketing, your TA shifts to reporters. To reach your TA's heart, you must first understand their thinking—how do reporters evaluate news? This can be simply categorized into the following considerations. Each point has practical examples, though specifics vary by media type; the following leans toward television news.
1. Timeliness
When reporters learn of an event, they assess whether delayed reporting (a week, a day) would diminish its impact or make it outdated. If not urgent, they may hold the story until a "dry news day" (when there's little else to report), then release it. If urgent and related to current news topics, they'll immediately gather information and report. Timeliness considerations don't necessarily require the event to occur first; sometimes supervisors demand coverage of a trending topic, prompting reporters to find interview subjects.
For example, when China National Petroleum's Taoyuan refinery produced substandard 95-octane gasoline two years ago, this would be the hottest topic that day or the next. Reporters would rush to find car owners whose vehicles broke down due to the faulty gasoline and publish immediately, not waiting until the next day.
Another example: I once discovered that a 83-year-old high school in Taipei was closing admissions—a significant event. However, since no other media had the story, I delayed a week to confirm its authenticity and explore additional angles (principal's debts, interpersonal issues, land problems, etc.). I published on the final school day (closing day), so competitors couldn't capture student footage or interview key figures, increasing news exclusivity.
2. Topicality
Reporters care deeply about topicality. Imagine this: you wouldn't see news about people eating ginger duck soup in summer, right?
How do reporters think about topics? Actually, it's like how businesses offer different promotions for different holidays—reporters plan ahead for monthly or yearly topics. Looking at a simple yearly calendar:
Each month has established holidays to cover. So if you want to pitch press releases to reporters, timing them with seasonal topics is safest. For example, for tech shows, reporters identify "angles" based on PR-provided discounts and unique appliances. Or consider home products like a Hello Kitty-designed fire extinguisher, which overturns the traditional tough image of large extinguishers—making them both household decor and self-defense tools. This creates a new story angle for fire extinguishers.
3. Relevance to the Public
Here, I should clarify what "public" means. Many people watching news react with "what's newsworthy about that" if they already know the story—ignoring the "public" identity. By definition, the public spans ages 4 to 65, so news production must make this diverse, undemographic audience understand the same event. Thus, news selection must satisfy this audience's tastes.
For example, I once received a letter from Taipei First High School's discipline office about a summer personal safety education course. After calling for details, I learned they'd hired a martial arts instructor to teach students self-defense. You might wonder: how does this relate to the public?
Actually, when I received this letter, I desperately needed news. I was thinking how to pitch this to my supervisor—simply following the letter's content seemed boring, just a regular school activity. How could I connect it to the public?
It happened to be around June two years ago. Do you remember what happened that year?
Right—twelve murders in one month, all victims female, many dismembered. Here's how I packaged the story:
"Because there have been so many murders lately, afraid students would encounter dangerous people commuting, Taipei First High School specially hired a martial arts instructor to teach flag team members self-defense!"
With this framing, a simple self-defense class story connected to a social issue. That morning, live-streamed self-defense clips online, TV had on-location coverage, and viewers commented it was meaningful news and activity.
https://www.facebook.com/tvbsfb/videos/10155574217380933/
This is "relevance to the public"—something everyone, regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity, should know.
4. Uniqueness / Importance
Uniqueness and importance define news affecting society with distinctive content. This matters greatly to reporters under exclusive pressure. For instance, if a fraud case uses common scam methods, reporters might lose interest. But if the victim is someone with "recognizable social status, unexpectedly victimized," it becomes unique.
Reporters find exclusives through various means: calling acquaintances for recent controversy tips, posting on social media for exclusives, or finding topics online and developing them. Success depends on understanding the event and sensitivity to news topics.
The key to getting reporter attention is whether the event has controversy—whether it breaks laws or exists in gray areas. You need not understand law, but these common legal issues appear frequently in news: Consumer Protection Act, Social Order Maintenance Act, Pharmacy Act, false reporting. So if you want negative operations (attacking competitors), investigate whether their products violate these laws. Though this example is unfortunate, many receive negative industry competitor tips. Because it genuinely benefits the public, reporters won't interfere in relationships—they report the event regardless, knowing it's industry competition.
5. Visuals
This concerns TV reporters most. If you've contacted TV reporters, they definitely ask:
"What visuals can I capture?"
"Can someone be interviewed?"
"Will you prepare XXX items for filming?"
TV news requires visuals—numerous items, attractive colors, practical demonstrations are absolutely preferred. You can't just present a news topic expecting reporters to cover it. Don't assume your idea is great enough; if you don't understand their needs, why should they cooperate? Millions of news stories happen daily—why yours?
For example, a brand launched a phone emphasizing improved night performance. TV camera couldn't capture night differences, so the company prepared a darkroom with no lights at the press conference. They set up a phone mount holding two phones side-by-side—the new model on left, old on right. Reporters could film screens directly, comparing brightness simultaneously. This was a visual specially designed by the company.
【Actual Press Release Example】
I highly recommend a certain job site's press releases. They never issue document-format releases confusing reporters; instead, they clearly state today's topic, available visuals, attendees, and data.
For example, during university entrance exams, they issued:
The university entrance exam starts on the 17th. This year's applicants dropped, with just over 130,000 registrations. The dragon year population effect is gone, piling pressure on universities facing closure threats. Yet some universities remain popular, growing yearly. Which universities did enterprises prefer in 2020, and what qualities should new graduates possess for workplace success?
Invitees:
1. School representative: private tech university ranking #1 school rep2. Student selling appliances achieving sales records, resume added, Japanese company offering 3 million yen salary—A-Sheng (formal outfit, Japanese self-introduction)
3. New graduate with 10 finance certificates entering banking world, 5 financial holding companies competing to recruit—Ze-Wei (showing multiple finance certificates)
4. Lamenting insufficient academics, returning as student, sophomore wins international beauty championship consecutively, entrepreneurship prospects bright—Ruan (live-demonstrating trendy makeup)
The job site's actual news focus is publishing the "most preferred by enterprises" university ranking. But because of entrance exam topic relevance, they packaged media-needed topics upfront, arranged interview subjects, and the top-ranked school principal. This provides interviewees, topics, and visuals simultaneously.
See this release's results—searching keywords shows many mainstream media covered it:
You'll notice nearly all media followed the release's content—this exemplifies my opening point: "sometimes media becomes the subject of agenda setting," no longer solely setting agendas for the public.
Reason: media workers juggle too many tasks with nearly no thinking time. If enterprises comprehensively consider and provide quality, meaningful news, it easily satisfies media appetites. Want to issue press releases? Understand your audience's thinking (reporters), tailor releases accordingly, and provide discussion and assistance space. Reporters are human too; when they need packagable topics, they'll quickly think of you.
Author: Karen
National Chung Cheng University Graduate Institute of Telecommunication Transmission alumni | Previously presented papers at Fudan University Shanghai; specializes in audience and news media research
Former roles: Hong Kong 01 Group Duowei News investigative reporter / TVBS News copy editor / China News Network copy editor / ETtoday social media editor / GoSky startup media consultant
Contact: info@ladykaren.org
