McComb's quotes

The whole idea of agenda-setting has really hit home for me recently. As the new assistant news editor at the Ithacan I am constantly making help make decisions on what the readers on this campus consume in news. It's a difficult decision, and sometimes a double edged sword. I agree with the first quote when it says, "newspapers do considerably more than signal the existence of major events and issues." It is frightening, really, to think about how much power and control news organizations have over their audiences, including me. But I think putting only a negative connotation on the idea of what editors do everyday is not fair. Sadly, many consumers of news do not use multiple news outlets to become informed. If a person only reads one newspaper, then yes, that newspaper's agenda is ingrained in that reader. Newspapers are run by humans, not robots. As much as journalists force themselves to remain unbiased they still have human flaws. Newspapers are still run by corporations looking to make money and many times unwilling to pay for more reporters. I personally don't feel that as an editor I carry an "agenda" with my choices in what news goes on the front page. But journalism is a trade asking for perfection while being run by imperfect humans. And if those major stories were not on the front page of every paper, consumers would question why one would have something different than all the rest.