Mass media, agenda-setting, and political strategy

Freedman's treatment of media and social movements moves the discussion away from battlefield strategy. Early research suggests that mass communication often reinforces existing attitudes, while agenda-setting determines which subjects become publicly salient. The Chicago protest slogan that the whole world was watching introduces a harder problem: coverage can make an event visible while framing a movement against itself. The passage joins media selection, Gramscian hegemony, audience norms, and establishment unity into one strategic problem. Visibility does not confer control because public attention depends on who sets the agenda, how events are framed, what audiences already believe, and whether established authorities can present a coherent interpretation.