Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Political Science agenda politics and media agenda politics and media In the past few decades political scientists have been looking at ways to categorize different patterns which have emerged during their in depth study on why certain issues shoulder their way onto the calendar, and why others are left in the trashcan. John Kindogon is one such political scientist, his perceptive on agenda formation suggests that there are interactions between three “streams” of society: Problem stream, Policy stream and Political stream. His model proposes that these individual streams intersect through what he calls policy windows, opportunities for advocates to push attention towards their problem. From the clever usage of these streams policies are able to become passable legislation. This paper will use Kingdon’s “Streams” model to explain how different aspects of the community, government and media brought Florida House Bill 0991 onto the docket. In order to better comprehend Kingdon’s theories of agenda setting and their correlation to the proposal of Florida House Bill 0991, the basic model of policy formation must be explained; a general sketch of this model is: Private problem à Public Problem à Makes the Agenda à Formulation à Adoption à Budgeting à Implementation à Evaluation à Termination. A private problem, which only affects a small percentage of people, arises. This problem can exists between two private groups or between government and a private group of citizens. Through the use of a catalyst, like the media or interest groups, more people become aware that this specific problem exists and might one day affect their everyday lives. Thus, the private problem is catapulted into the public arena becoming a “public problem”. Public problems are those which affect a large percentage of the population. Once the public is aware of a situation they generally demand for action to be taken. Government takes action by selecting public or social issues which cause concern among the electorate and make an effort to amend them. They accomplish this task by placing the public’s concerns on their agenda. Agenda setting is the government’s way of actively showing which problems they intend to focus on during a particular session. After a problem has made it onto the agenda and legislators decided to tackle the issues at hand, the formulation process in undertaken. During this process there are many different ways government can modify the problem at hand, they normal go through rounds and rounds of discord to find the most expectable solution. At some point a policy is adopted and shaped to fit the liking of all parties involved. Policies tend to be extremely vague for this reason. Budgeting is the next sequential step in the policy formation process. During this step the bill makes its way into several different sub-committees for appropriation. Succeeding the budgeting stage, is the implementation phase where the executive branch of local, state, or federal government decides how the newly budgeted policy will be set into action. Anywhere from twelve months to seventy-two months after the implementation of the legislation there will be an evaluation of the program to make sure the legislation, which passed, actually amends the problem it aimed to solve. If the program fails, and there is no alternative way in which the legislators are able to remedy the program through revising the policy, the policy is then terminated. Now with the basic model of policy formation understood, one can take a closer look at how a problem transcends the boundary of a private problem and becomes a public one worthy of being slotted on the agenda. Though before one can begin to look at how different facets of the social and political realms make it on to the local or national agendas, the term agenda must be set and defined. Political scientists Roger Cobb and Charles Elder classify an agenda as “a general set of political controversies that will be viewed at any point in time as falling within the range of legitimate concerns meriting the attention of the policy” (Dearing). Thus agenda setting can be identified as the list of issues or concerns to which government officials and people outside of the government pay serious attention. Agenda setting is the first stage of the policy process in which policy problems are presented for governmental resolution. It is an ongoing competition among proponents of issues to gain the attention of the media, professionals, the public, and the policy elite. There are several reasons for the importance of the agenda concept. Since the American political system is a representative democracy rather than a direct one, it cannot be guaranteed that all potential political and social problems will automatically come up for public consideration. The action of conducting a public agenda will winnow out idiosyncratic concerns and emphasize those that have been citied by a large number of people. The existence of a combined public and political agenda simplifies the problems associated with choosing among the issues and helps legislators apportion their time more efficiently. Public agendas tend to be vague in defining priorities or imposing urgency factors; they however suggest the desirability to deal with all issues in a timely manner. An issue is a battle between two or more groups over contradictory social or political matters. When talking about issues in terms of agenda setting, their dual nature must be considered. This conflicting nature allows these topics to become noteworthy, as proponents and opponents debate in the shared “public arena”, which is also known as “mass media”. According to Kingdon there are three main components which lead to the rise of problems or concerns to the agenda. The first is the problem or issue itself. Problems move onto the agenda for several reasons. External indicators, like the media or interest groups, show the issue is in existence. These indicators increase the knowledge of general public on the particular issue at hand; therefore the magnitude of the problem grows in the minds of the general public. While incidents such as national disasters, crisis, or powerful symbols tend to beg the attention of governments or external indicators and in essences push the specific issue onto the legislative agenda. Another, though less successful, way is for governmental officials themselves to place the issue on the agenda. Legislators, through emails, phone calls, and letters, are always being updated by their constituents on local matters which can turn into a larger problem, thus forcing the hand of the legislator to take action and propose a bill to amend the situation. Certain social problems never become issues even though proponents and adversaries exist; problems require exposure as well as media coverage before they can be considered “public” issues. Attention to an issue, given by the media, members of the public, or policy-makers, enhances the power held by select individuals or organizations in influencing the decision process. An example is the Watergate scandal, which thrust abuse of presidential power into the public eye, eventually forcing President Nixon to resign. This was the first among many political issues to become a social concern due to media influence. It was the event that ultimately set the trend of modern media concerns and subsequent exposure in politics. Another public revelation which included televised hearings was an arms-for-hostages deal with Iran, in which members of President Regan’s staff may have disobeyed the law and misled the public, increased general distrust in the government and augmented reliance on the media for “in-depth” coverage of major events and current social problems. Thus, the media is a major player in advancing certain concerns to the agenda and eventually to the Senate and House calendars. Politics and the media have long been intimately involved with each other, with the media strongly setting the priorities in the political world because of its ever-looming presence. Mass media is an influence omnipresent in everyday life, from television sets, to radio, to print, and even the Internet. “The Press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers (viewers) what to think about” (Cohen). Modern man’s perception of the real world is largely a product of the media. Mass media strives to keep the general public informed and up to date with current news and events in small or large communities and states and countries around the world. There are several factors other than media which force legislators to take action in favor of reform by proposing a new piece of legislation. Concerned parties range from lobbyists, special interest groups, private citizens, and of course to the media. Other than the strong hold of media, interest groups are perhaps the most influential of these parties. In the case of Florida House Bill 0991 which led to the eventual elimination of Surety bond usage against funeral home pre-need trusts, special interest groups played an enormous role prioritizing the Florida House agenda. By Florida law the House of Representatives allows each of its members to present six bills for consideration each session. Aware of this fact, private funeral home owners united to demand the attention of Representative Dennis Baxley from Ocala, Florida. Representative Baxley, a private Funeral Home owner himself, was eager to put an end to Surety bond usage. All funeral homes sell pre-need funerals, these are funeral ceremonies which are bought and paid for before death of the purchaser occurs. The money destined for the funeral is placed in a trust fund managed by the state. Surety bonds allow funeral homes to deduct money from this trust fund in order to pay for costs pertaining to the funeral home business, which may include: paychecks, rent, and new equipment and are paid for by all funeral directors each time they write a pre-need contract. Ten dollars from the amount of each funeral is subtracted, at the funeral home’s expense, to be placed in a statewide trust that ensures all pre-planned and paid for funerals will be covered without the original purchaser or the state being required to expend additional funds. Prior to 1996 no funeral home had attempted to take money out of the pre-need trust in the form of Surety bonds; Stuart Enterprise, Inc. was the first entity to do so. Bonding status is up for renewal each year. If a funeral home is rejected for renewal, and a request is put forward that the money be placed into a trust, the funeral home is given a three-month period to pay off the bond. However, if a funeral home is unable to do so, the Sherman Trust will then be responsible for the debate of all future pre-needs that the funeral home is unable to pay for. So far, only Stuart Enterprise, Inc. has attempted to access this loophole; this company is slowly losing revenue each year and is unable to make their payments. To obtain sufficient consideration, privately owned funeral homes throughout the state of Florida joined with several veteran’s groups to put an end to the use of Surety bonds. However, before they were able to get the attention of Representative Baxley, they had to become a unified front. Knowing that the amount of support an issue has increases the amount of time and consideration given to it the Funeral Home Owners and Supporters Alliance (FHOSA) contacted all newspapers in and around Florida and sought televised coverage when ever possible, until they believed they had gathered enough support. FHOSA was formed and with the aid of Representative Dennis Baxley they were able to explain their concern to Representative Mayfield of Vero Beach, Florida, who in turn presented the case to the House of Representatives. The bill was then sent to four committees and was eventually passed in both the House and the Senate; its senatorial sponsor was Jack Latvalla. Politically, is the second “stream” which can lead to problems moving up the agenda; this is independent of the Problem Stream for it functions on its own accord. National moods, normally set by the President, have a lot to do with which items make the cut. Elections bring about a new Administration, who in turn bring their own platform, as well as their own ideological and moral stance which they tend to press on Congress. All the while, interest groups are running about attempting to over-turn issues which the new administration has set forth. Local communities can have moods separate from the National one set by the President. Ocala, being a conservative Mecca, tends to favor small private businesses which is a key factor in Representative Baxley’s aiding FHOSA in their quest for abolishment of Surety bonds. Policy itself is the third stream problems follow to get onto the agenda. Experts and analysts examine policy problems in an effort to find an adequate solution, while weeding out policies which tend to be too ambiguous to solve the dilemma at hand. Certain polices have to removed from the agenda, for numerous reasons. The feasibility, similarity with the values of the constituents, constraints such as budgets, and public acceptance are among the reasons why legislation is taken from, or not considered for slating. Proposal which are considered infeasible are automatically removed from the agenda, even if there are external indicators, like the media, pushing for issue resolution. Interest groups and media play enormous roles in setting agendas, however political ideals are still a viable concern among legislators. “… I helped Jack and all of the boys from the funeral homes because I myself know the struggle one faces because of all of the large funeral home corporations out there. Plus, most of my constituents are older (65+) and they want to know they and their loved ones will be taken care of in their time of need” (Rep. Baxley, 2001). Proposals are considered in part because of political gain and support and opposition, but also based on analytical criteria as well. It is the opinion of the writer that the media acts as a very influential external indicator in agenda setting; this can be a double-edged sword. In the case of Florida House Bill 0991, there was extensive media support from smaller communities possessing an older population. In this particular case media support put an end to the abuse of the Sherman trust, however in other cases media can exploit the public and force their attention towards issues of little importance; the same problem occurs with interest groups. It is up to the legislators and the public to narrow the set of subjects to a list which has a focus. Alternative specification is the process of narrowing the range of possible positions for any one issue, this most be accomplished in order to have an organized and concise agenda. Each generation is said to write its own history of the world. This is not because of any spiteful desire to cast aside the worldview of their forefathers or just to rewrite history to their liking. Although these motives may not be totally absent, each generation creates a history and political policies differing in significant details from pervious versions simply because they came of age under a new set of circumstances and issues. Agenda setting is a way of striving to amend the problems of the day. As one can see there are several ways in which the agenda can be set, ranging from external indicators like the media, interest groups, and entrepreneurs, legislative support, and the need for policy in the given area. The more external support a concern has outside of government, the more likely it is to make its way onto the agenda. Problems, like Stuart Enterprise buying Surety bonds, rise quickly to governmental agendas for there happens to be strong base support from interest groups, the media, and legislative officials. Though most of Kingdom’s streams work independently of each other, there are times when they come together through policy windows and make an issue move fast through the entire policy process. Bibliography: Word Count: 2653
Copyright © 2005 College Term Papers, INC All Rights Reserved.