Aim

The process of editorial decision-making implies the selection of important information, during which media, apart from informing society about current events filters out certain information too. Various factors may impact the agenda setting by media. The aim of the exercise is to help the participants develop decision making skills as well as skills of critical analysis of those factors which may affect agenda setting.

Length

40 min

Method

Team work, presentation, discussion

Material needed

Computers, access to the Internet. Printed out working forms, pens, whiteboard, flipchart paper sheets.

Task:  Divide the participants into two groups. Select two news agencies with different editorial policies and ask one group to work on most important news items of one agency while ask another group to work on the materials of another agency. Based on materials of one day, each group has to select those 10 most important information, which they would have themselves covered too. Enter the data into a table provided below, ranking it by priorities and substantiate why is a specific information important.

Download working form 4

Presentation: Ask each group to present and substantiate their editorial decision.

Discussion: After the presentations, discuss the following issues:

• How different were the sets of information of one and the same day selected by two different groups?
• What caused the difference/similarity?
• What factors affect the formation of agenda?