News

===Influence===
The content and style of news delivery certainly have effects on the general public, with the magnitude and precise nature of these effects being tough to determine experimentally.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 1–10.</ref> In Western societies, television viewing has been so ubiquitous that its total effect on psychology and culture leave few alternatives for comparison.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 12. "Some media may be so pervasive and so consistent in their effects that their impact is not noticeable. After all, it is almost impossible find someone who doesn't watch television in industrialized societies. And those light viewers associate regularly with others who do watch television. Morgan (1986) suggested that 'the longer we live with television, the smaller television's observable impact may become'.</ref>

News is the leading source of knowledge about global affairs for people around the world.<ref>Zhong, "Searching for Meaning" (2006), pp. 17–18.</ref> According to [[agenda-setting theory]], the general public will identify as its priorities those issues which are highlighted on the news.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = McCombs | first1 = Maxwell E. | last2 = Shaw | first2 = Donald L. | title = The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media | doi = 10.1086/267990 | journal = Public Opinion Quarterly | volume = 36 | issue = 2| page = 176 | year = 1972 }}</ref> The agenda-setting model has been well-supported by research, which indicate that the public's self-reported concerns respond to changes in news coverage rather than changes in the underlying issue itself.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 98–99.</ref> The less an issue obviously affects people's lives, the bigger an influence media agenda-setting can have on their opinion of it.<ref>Perse, ''Media Effects And Society'' (2001), 100. "When issues are obtrusive, or directly experienced, such as inflation, the public does not need the news media to alert them to its importance. But, the less direct experience that they have with an issue, the more they depend on the news media for awareness. So, agenda-setting appears to be stronger for less personally involving issues."</ref> The agenda-setting power becomes even stronger in practice because of the correspondence in news topics promulgated by different media channels.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Tien Vu | first1 = Hong | last2 = Guo | first2 = Lei | last3 = McCombs | first3 = Maxwell E. | title = Exploring 'the World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads': A Network Agenda-Setting Study | journal = Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly | volume = 91 | issue = 4| year= 2014 }}</ref>