Agenda Setting and George Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” Re: the Iraq War.
Kiousis, S. (2011). Agenda Setting and Attitudes. Journalism Studies, 12(3), 358-374.
Spiro Kiousis, media studies academic and author of at least 13 articles from a variety of journalism and communication journals, detailed in “Agenda Setting and Attitudes” the theoretical rudiments of agenda setting and proved the hypothesis that media salience through agenda setting is directly related to public salience and awareness as well as attitude strength.
The article was presented much like a scientific report, addressing such topics as priming, attitude strength, linking salience and attitude strength, methods in which the study was conducted, data analysis strategy, results, hypothesis testing and discussion. The presence of these elements was particularly useful as it not only gave a theoretical background to agenda setting but through the statistical research was able to prove the aforementioned hypothesis.
The study had a primary focus on the interconnectedness between media salience of presidential candidates and the publics perceived candidate salience and public attitude strength towards the candidates. This was achieved through using the media and public opinion data from presidential elections.
The report includes raw collected data and a successive analysis of the data which demonstrates that the ideas expressed are credible and bias is absent. Extensive referencing is used throughout the report which also demonstrates a thoroughly researched journal article, resulting in the high credibility and reliability of the article.
Pstuart, S., Nordby7 (Producer). (2007, 26-10-2011). Mission Accomplished. [Video] Retrieved from http://current.com/groups/on-current-tv/76385062_mission-accomplished.htm
The video of George Bush’s Mission Accomplished speech on 1st May, 2003 was an issue of prominence in 2003 and through agenda setting was able to generate public salience. The video shows the President of the time, George Bush, standing at a podium on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, stating that major combat operations in the Iraq War were over.
The video of George Bush’s Mission Accomplished speech presented on ‘Current TV’ was not representative of a certain viewpoint or bias from the source as it was footage of the speech itself; demonstrating its credibility. The speech however was representative of the opinions of George Bush who, through the aim to appease the American public stated that major combat operations in the Iraq War were over; regardless of the fact troops were deployed just 4 days later.
The resubmission of the footage by ‘Current TV’ in 2007, 4 years after the speech and as the war was still apparent, demonstrates a sense of mocking at George Bush by the source. This effectively positioned Bush to appear foolish and that the speech was a folly in light of the continuation of the war, in much the same manner the article by Seghal establishes.
Seghal, U. (2011). Eight Years Ago, Bush Declared 'Mission Accomplished' in Iraq Retrieved 26-10, 2011, from http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/05/mission-accomplished-speech/37226/
Journalist Ujala Seghal, author of countless articles for the popular source ‘The Atlantic Wire’ published the article about Bush’s Mission Accomplished speech on 1st May, 2011, not accidentally the 8th anniversary of the speech. Publishing the article at this time gives credit to the views that the article is presenting: that the speech was a folly. The article details that the speech was unwarranted as the war has continued for an indefinite period of time, but that Bush was not the only one who expected the war to be at its demise at the time the speech was delivered.
The article begins with increased statistics of the death toll in Iraq (U.S. soldiers only) to add shock value and illuminate the fact that the speech was a falsehood as the war is continuing. It is evident through agenda setting that the anniversary aspect of the speech which is present in the video by ‘Current TV’, article by Seghal and radio broadcast by Rowland made the issue of the speech about the ‘end’ of the Iraq war an issue of salience and awareness within the public sphere.
The article by Seghal, clearly presenting the bias that the speech was a folly, used supporting quotes by news commentators which are not considered credible academic sources which supported the opinions in the article, demonstrating that the article was highly opinionated.
Rowland, M. (Producer). (2008, 26-10-2011). Banner Anniversary Puts White House on the Defensive. [Broadcast] Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2008/s2233317.htm
The radio broadcast from the ABC’s AM program presented by esteemed reporter and North American correspondent Michael Rowland is illustrative of the anniversary aspect of the agenda setting theory as demonstrated in the video from ‘Current TV’ and especially the article by Seghal.
The broadcast begins with stating that it is the 5 year anniversary since the speech and terms of endearment were used to describe the context of Bush and the speech such as “Top Gun style” and “his [George Bush] fighter jet jumpsuit” (Rowland, 2008). These terms make evident the bias in the article which is not dissimilar to that of the article by Seghal: that the speech was a folly and illuminates the common point that the war is continuing.
The broadcast discusses the Mission Accomplished speech through interviews and audio recordings which offers an accurate grounding of events such as the alleged end to the Iraq war, contrasted with contemporary protests to the war 5 years later.
Although there is bias present in the broadcast, the ABC-AM program is viewed as a credible and reliable medium, substantiated by the interviews and audio recordings of key interest figures such as George Bush, John McCain and Iraq veteran Joshua Lansdale.
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