![]() This involves making sure that people understand how issues affect them directly or indirectly, and play out in their communities. Once people are aware of and understand issues, the next step is to foster concern about them. ![]() Once people understood these aspects of the issue, they were much more likely to take it seriously, and to ask whether it was a problem in their own community. And, perhaps most telling of all, the children of those with low skill levels often had difficulty in school, perpetuating the pattern. Fewer and less-informed voters meant fewer community decisions based on good information and consideration of the alternatives available. Local employers were less able to be competitive, because they couldn't find workers with the skills to quickly learn new procedures or new jobs. People with literacy problems were often working in low-skilled, poorly-paid jobs, resulting in a lower community tax base. The loss to the community, he explained, was as great as the loss to the affected adults themselves. In his presentations, the adult literacy program director spoke about the effects of literacy issues on the community as well as on those who struggled with them. If provided good information, citizens and public officials will realize that the issue is serious. The next step is to explain the issue clearly whom it affects and how it works, where it is encountered, and what the significance is. They may feel that it doesn't really matter, that it only affects a few people or places far away, or that there's really no proof of its effects. People may understand that it exists, but not understand its implications. Therefore, if people in your community and the local media are currently focused on incidents of teenage drug use, you'll have to work doubly hard to get adult literacy on the radar screen.Įnsure understanding of the issue and its importance.Īwareness of an issue is only the beginning. So if the public agenda (the concerns of average citizens) contains a limited number of items, agenda-setting is a "zero sum" game: In order for one issue to appear the agenda, it must push another off. In one national study, researchers gave individuals a chance to name as many "important issues" as they wished-and most named only four or five. Dearing and Rogers also point out that scarcity of attention is a factor in agenda-setting. Rogers point out in Agenda-Setting (1996), proponents of specific issues are constantly competing to gain the attention of the media, the public, and the policy makers. The first step in getting it addressed is raising public consciousness about it.Īgenda-setting is essentially a competition for a limited resource: attention.Īs James W. ![]() Depending upon how much they already know, there are several steps to go through, and each takes time.Ĭitizens and officials in the community may not know the issue exists, or may believe it couldn't exist in their community. Raising awareness and engaging the public, officials, and policy makers is not a simple matter. Road repair, or public building maintenance, may be unrelated to health and community services, while other matters, such as local financial support for child care, needle exchange programs, public-private cooperation to stop youth violence, have everything to do with them. The local agenda refers to whatever a community sees as necessary to address. ![]() This section discusses how to plan for informing people in a community about an issue and persuade them of its importance. In these cases, it is crucial to raise awareness, gain community support, and put the issue on the local agenda. Often, community members are unaware of serious issues facing their communities. Learn how to develop and execute a plan for raising awareness about an issue and getting the issue onto the public agenda.
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