Everyone watches the news or is exposed to it in some way. Some people get the news through papers, news channels, or even social media. There are multiple sources  were people can get their news. In this article, Zaria Gorvett speaks about how the news can change the way that we think and the way that they behave. The first example given was about the Boston marathon bombing.  According to a study one of the groups that had been affected the most were those who had consumed the news. They had shown to have a high stress response and affected their mental health. Domestically the news can affect our views on immigrants, it can affect our dreams, world views, views on other countries and so on. Although sometimes the news can warp our views negatively.

In the text Griffin talks about media agenda and how it affects our perceptions. First and foremost media agenda is defined as, “The list of issues emphasized by the news media at any given time.” (368). This means that media shows us what we should be focusing on. Secondly, the news does not just affect our opinions, “But in his most recent book on agenda setting, McCombs presents several intriguing findings showing that media priorities also influence people’s behavior.” (373). Media does influence our behaviors by a lot. Lastly,  Agendamelding is defined as, “The social process by which we meld agendas from various sources to create pictures of the world to fit our experiences and preferences.” (376). This means that we combine our sources of information to fit our own world view. This is not always a good thing because we only end up view things that we agree with.

This article is a great way to understand  how the media can set agendas, and influence the ways we think and the ways that we behave. As stated in the article, the media can influence what we focus on. In one case it can be immigration. This is a big focus here in America. Let’s take two news channels as an example; Fox news and CNN. On one hand CNN will defend immigrants that come to America while Fox News will advocate to deport them if they cross the border. They both show the story to get people to focus on it and in some ways the way the news portrays it, in order to fit their agenda, affects our beliefs and behaviors. The article also gave an example of how the news can affect our behavior. An example given was how the media frames the Coronavirus, which causes people to have high stress and anxiety. Leading people to seek out help for mental health, which has increased the demand for therapy. Lastly, Angendamelding is something that we all do. In turn many people will only look to news sources that they agree with even if it is harmful. If people are on the more cautious side when it comes to the Coronavirus they will listen to news sources that fit their views and provide them with more information. If they don’t believe in it or don’t think it is as bad as it is then they will go to sources that support their views. The news is not always a good thing as it can affect us in many negative ways.