“It’s real! Trust Me, I’m A Journalist.”

We’ve all seen the reality shows- the outrageous scandals and even tacky personalities which make you question how ‘real’ this reality is. Have we ever stopped to think though how ‘real’ all TV shows are, particularly the news? How much is truth and how much is just ‘constructed reality’?

The media plays a great role in ‘constructing’ or ‘mediating’ the social world around us; the create a social construction of reality called agenda setting. Agenda setting is seen as when an individual’s conception of reality is socially constructed through shared language and though the reality exists, the way we come to think about it is socially mediated.

A journalist, therefore, must then select topics that that address Public Agenda; what do the general viewers perceive as important and relevant? Then, they must also tackle Policy Agenda and issues ‘decision makers’ would believe salient. After that follows Corporate Agenda, which is issues that big business would see as important and Media Agenda, which outlines and feeds off topics already being discussed in the media.

One must be careful though, as agenda setting can also use the media as a mass forum for propaganda. This is due to the fact the mass media does not simply reflect and report reality, they also filter and shape it to their own ends and means. This can leads us (as the public) to believe some issues are more important than others, which is not always the case.

So I’ll leave all you today with a little test: When you next see a picture in the media, be it an advert or even just that tiny little intro photo on the news, what is the first association you make and why?

You could surprise yourself.

Now this could be an interesting place to live...