What role does agenda-setting play in media communication?

Agenda-setting plays a crucial role in media communication by influencing which topics are considered important within public discourse. This concept suggests that the media doesn't just report the news but actively shapes public perception by highlighting certain issues while downplaying others. When the media focuses on specific topics, those issues are more likely to be perceived as significant by the audience. This means that agenda-setting can impact public opinion, policymaking, and societal priorities as it essentially tells the audience what to think about, even if it doesn’t tell them what to think.

The other options relate to different aspects of media communication. Truthfulness, for instance, pertains to journalistic integrity and fact-checking rather than the agenda-setting process. Regulating media content and preventing bias involves ethical guidelines and standards rather than the agenda-setting aspect of media influence. Summarizing events for audience entertainment focuses more on the presentation style of media rather than the critical function of agenda-setting, which centers around the prioritization of issues.