“Through the continued interaction of theory and empirical research consistent with the scientific method, agenda-setting theory has evolved from a narrowly focused perspective to a broad theory. Initially, the focus was on how the media influences the public's view of which issues are important. The theory subsequently expanded to include five distinct aspects of public life: basic effects and agenda-setting attributes, the psychology of these processes, and the consequences of these effects on opinions and behavior. The participation of scholars from around the world has been fundamental to the continued productivity of the theory” (Maxwell McCombs). Agenda setting theory began in Walter Lippmann's 1922 book, Public Opinion. Lippmann explains the correlation between world events and images in the public mind. His ideas led to the theory created by McCombs and Shaw: “Donald Shaw, Maxwell McComb, and their colleagues argue that media representations can influence how people think about news, help organize the world of experience, and have a surprising success in telling us what to think about. In other words, agenda setting establishes salient issues or images in the mind of the audience” (Littlejohn and Foss, 341). There was another scholar named G. Ray Funkhouser who was doing a related study at the same time as Shaw and McCombs. At the same academic conference, all three showed their results. After the publication of his article he did not continue with his research and did not formally name this theory, thus he was denied credit for creating this theory. Agenda setting occurs when the media is selective in how it reports the news. There are so many different news outlets and everyone is always making choices about what (half the paper) to blame) towards violence on (fictional) television rather than towards real violence shown on news or documentaries. “Another argument is that the very idea of ​​media agenda setting is the result of conservative ideology and paranoia” (Freeman, 4). Works CitedFreeland, Amber M. “An Overview of Agenda Setting Theory in Mass Communications.” An Overview of Agenda Setting Theory in Mass Communications. University of North Texas, November 12, 2012. Web. November 29, 2013. Lewin, Kurt Z. “All About Theories for Communication.” RSS communication theory. Np, 2010. Web. November 29, 2013. Littlejohn, Stephen W., and Karen A. Foss. "Chapter 10 The Media." Theories of human communication. 10th ed. Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2011. Page No. Print.McCombs, Maxwell. "Journalism Studies". A Look at Agenda Setting: Past, Present and Future 6 (2005): n. page Press.