combinations. And although we have to act in that environment, we have to reconstruct it on a 
simpler model before we can manage with it." (Lippmann 1922). Out of the glut of news and 
information that continuously rain in on us, the mass media accordingly filter out Just a bit of 
it and thus place issues on our agenda — hence, the term "agenda setting". By structuring, 
placing and repeating selected issues, they direct the public's attention to these issues. 
The influence process of agenda setting 1s not one-sided, however, since the media's selection 
of issues is in part guided by the issue priorities of its audience ("reflection hypothesis"), so 
that there is a continuous interplay between media offerings and individual assignment of 
salience. This is described in particular by the "dynamic-transactional model of the 
communication process" of Werner Früh and Klaus Schónbach, which attempts to bridge the 
agenda-setting approach and the reflection hypothesis (Früh/Schónbach 1982, 78). 
Dearing und Rogers (1996, 5) expand the reciprocal relationship between media and public by 
the component "policy" to create the "triangle of political communication". This results in 
three different agenda areas: 1. Media Agenda, with media reporting as the level of reference 
(issue selection by journalists), 2. Public Agenda, with the population or specific population 
groups as the level of reference (media influence by/on the public), and 3. Policy Agenda, 
with the political arena as the level of reference (relationship between media and policy, 
influence of the public on policy) (see Fig. 2). 
  
  
Personal experiences and interpersonal 
communication among elites and other persons 
es Ra 
[| Media Agenda | —#=| Public Agenda | ——#| Policy Agenda 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Gatekeeper, influential media 
and spectacular news events 
i 
„Real World" 
Indicators of the salience of the 
  
agenda issue or event 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Fig. 2: Media Agenda, Public Agenda and Policy Agenda (Source: Dearing/Rogers 1996, 5) 
As is well-known and was mentioned above, the media report selectively and thus a large part 
of reality is not reflected in the media, so that many people regard omitted issues as 
unimportant or do not even learn of their existence. This phenomenon, when engaged in 
deliberately, is known as agenda cutting and is consciously used by communicators under the