Agenda Setting

I think that McCombs quotes are very true and very telling. I strongly believe that the way in which the media presents the news strongly influences the way in which I and other people who consume news perceive the importance and prevalence of stories and issues.  For example, my parents have a subscription to the Boston Globe and my father "reads" the paper everday. However, he reads the front page (and I highly doubt he flips to the continuation of the stories inside the front cover) and the sports pages. My mother however will read the paper almost from front to back without skipping anything. I think that I am very lucky to be able to grow up in a household where my parents read newspapers and we discuss current events and important issues of the day, however, my mother always seems to take much more expansive and well thought out view points on current issues. My mother uses different sources of news (radio, television, online, and print) that come from a variety of different vendors. My father however has much narrower view points that usually consist of what the Globe has told him about an issue or event. Now, I don't think that is wrong in any way I just think that it makes a big difference in how our world perceives the world around us. In my personal opinion I would rather have people with narrower view points from only one source that has its stake in what goes on page one vs page two then people who are not involved with what is going on in the world around them at all. I guess any exposure is good exposure in my mind.