Communication Theories and Media Effects

Introduction and Context

Communication is central to media management because media organisations do more than distribute content. They select issues, construct meanings, organise relationships with audiences, influence public discussion and operate within political, cultural and commercial environments. A media manager therefore needs more than production or marketing skills; they must understand how communication occurs, why audiences respond differently, and under what conditions media messages may influence knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.

Media-effects research examines the consequences of communication. These consequences may be immediate or gradual, intended or unintended, individual or societal. A news report may inform a citizen, reinforce an existing belief, change the perceived importance of an issue or contribute to a wider public definition of reality. A streaming platform may satisfy entertainment needs while also shaping viewing routines and cultural preferences. A social-media platform may enable interpersonal communication but also amplify selected topics through algorithms and user sharing.

The theories in this chapter should not be treated as mutually exclusive explanations. Each highlights particular relationships among communicators, messages, channels, audiences and social contexts. Transmission models emphasise the movement of information; interaction models emphasise feedback and meaning-making; agenda-setting explains perceived issue importance; framing examines how issues are presented; cultivation considers long-term exposure; uses and gratifications focuses on active audiences; diffusion explains the spread of innovations; gatekeeping identifies processes of selection; two-step flow highlights interpersonal influence; and media-dependency theory explains why media influence may become stronger under conditions of uncertainty or social change.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Explain the main elements and assumptions of transmission and interaction models of communication.
2. Distinguish among agenda-setting, framing and cultivation effects.
3. Apply uses and gratifications, diffusion, gatekeeping, two-step flow and media-dependency theories to media practice.
4. Analyse how platform technologies, algorithms and audience activity modify traditional media-effects assumptions.
5. Evaluate the professional, ethical and governance implications of media influence.
6. Select an appropriate theory for analysing a practical media-management problem.

1. Communication as a Process

Communication involves the creation, encoding, transmission, interpretation and possible response to symbolic messages. The participants may be individuals, groups, organisations or institutions. Messages can be verbal, visual, auditory, numerical or multimodal. Communication is influenced by context, including culture, social relationships, technology, time, institutional power and previous experience.

A useful conceptual sequence is:

Source → Encoding → Message → Channel → Decoding → Receiver → Feedback

Noise may affect every stage. Noise includes physical interference, technical failure, language ambiguity, distraction, misinformation, cultural misunderstanding and competing messages. Communication is successful only if the receiver interprets the message in a sufficiently compatible way for the intended purpose. Perfectly identical meaning is neither necessary nor always possible.

Important terminology

• Source or sender: The person or organisation initiating communication.
• Encoding: Translating an idea into symbols or a message form.
• Message: The symbolic content being communicated.
• Channel: The medium or route through which a message travels.
• Receiver: The person or group for whom a message is intended or who encounters it.
• Decoding: Interpreting the message.
• Feedback: A response that provides information about reception or interpretation.
• Noise: Any factor that disrupts, distorts or competes with communication.
• Context: The social, cultural, institutional and technological setting of communication.
• Medium: A communication technology or institutional form, such as radio, television, newspapers or social media.

2. Transmission Models: Communication as Information Transfer

Transmission models represent communication primarily as the movement of information from a source to a receiver. The linear model associated with Harold Lasswell asks: Who says what, in which channel, to whom, with what effect? This formulation remains useful for planning campaigns because it directs attention to the communicator, message, medium, target audience and intended outcome.

The Shannon–Weaver model conceptualised communication as an information system involving an information source, transmitter, signal, receiver and destination, with noise affecting the signal. Although originally developed for telecommunications, its concepts have been adapted to human communication. For example, a broadcaster may encode a public-service announcement, transmit it through a radio station, and reach listeners whose interpretation is affected by language, reception quality, prior knowledge and competing content.

Transmission models are especially useful for:

• identifying communication objectives;
• designing messages for specific audiences;
• selecting suitable channels;
• diagnosing technical or semantic noise;
• evaluating reach, exposure and immediate response.

However, the linear model has important limitations. It can imply that audiences are passive containers into which information is inserted. It may understate interpretation, feedback, social relationships and unequal power. A message does not have one fixed meaning simply because the sender intended one. Nor does exposure guarantee attention, comprehension, acceptance or behavioural change.

In media management, transmission thinking is therefore valuable for operational planning but inadequate as a complete theory of communication. A campaign manager may know how many people received a message, yet still not know how they interpreted it or discussed it with others.

3. Interaction and Transaction Models

Interaction models treat communication as a two-way process. Participants alternate between sending and receiving messages, and feedback becomes central. A customer’s comment on a media organisation’s social-media post, for example, may influence the organisation’s next message. In this sense, communication is recursive rather than a one-directional delivery process.

Transactional models go further by presenting participants as simultaneous communicators. While one person speaks, the other communicates through facial expression, timing, posture, silence and other feedback. Meaning is co-constructed within a relationship and context. In digital media, the distinction between producer and audience may also become less clear: users comment, remix, share, review and create content themselves.

Interaction models draw attention to:

1. Feedback: Responses that reveal interpretation, approval, resistance or confusion.
2. Shared meaning: Understanding produced through social interaction rather than simply transferred.
3. Context: The same message may mean different things in different communities.
4. Relational communication: Trust, status and previous relationships influence interpretation.
5. Change over time: Communication develops through sequences of messages.

For managers, interaction models support community management, audience research, stakeholder engagement and crisis communication. They encourage organisations to listen, respond and adapt rather than simply broadcast.

4. Agenda-Setting Theory

Agenda-setting theory, associated particularly with Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw, proposes that media may influence what people think about even when they do not directly determine what people think. By giving greater prominence, frequency or duration to some issues, media can shape the perceived importance of those issues.

The theory distinguishes between at least two levels:

• First-level agenda setting: Influence on the perceived salience or importance of issues.
• Second-level agenda setting: Influence on the perceived importance of attributes or characteristics associated with an issue or public figure.

If a news bulletin repeatedly leads with inflation, audiences may regard inflation as a major national problem. If coverage repeatedly associates a political candidate with competence, corruption or youthfulness, those attributes may become more cognitively prominent.

Agenda-setting is not equivalent to total control. People obtain information from multiple sources, possess prior beliefs and discuss issues within social networks. Media salience may be strong when audiences rely heavily on news, when an issue is unfamiliar or when media coverage is highly consistent. It may be weaker when people have direct personal experience or when competing media present different agendas.

Media managers apply agenda-setting principles when deciding:

• which stories receive front-page or headline placement;
• how much airtime or digital prominence an issue receives;
• which topics are included or excluded from a campaign calendar;
• how editorial priorities align with public-interest responsibilities.

A major ethical issue follows: prominence is not neutral. Giving attention to one issue necessarily competes with attention to another. Managers should therefore document editorial criteria and distinguish public importance from commercial attractiveness or political pressure.

5. Framing Theory

Framing theory examines how communication selects and emphasises particular aspects of reality. A frame defines a problem, identifies causes, evaluates responsibility and suggests possible remedies. Two reports may address the same event but produce different interpretations because they use different frames.

For example, unemployment may be framed as:

• an individual skills problem;
• a consequence of economic policy;
• a technological transformation;
• a social-justice issue; or
• a temporary business-cycle effect.

Each frame highlights different evidence, sources, vocabulary and solutions. Framing operates through headlines, images, metaphors, quotations, statistics, story structure and the selection of experts.

Agenda setting asks, in broad terms, Which issues are prominent? Framing asks, How are those issues defined and interpreted? The two processes often operate together. A media organisation may place climate change prominently on its agenda while framing it as a scientific, economic, political or lifestyle issue.

Framing analysis can be applied systematically by asking:

1. What problem is identified?
2. Who or what is presented as responsible?
3. Which values or moral judgments are implied?
4. What solution is made to appear reasonable?
5. Which voices, facts or experiences are absent?

Frames are not always deliberate manipulation. Journalistic routines, available sources, organisational policies, professional norms and cultural assumptions can produce frames without a conscious decision by an individual journalist. Nevertheless, managers are responsible for recognising and reviewing these patterns.

6. Cultivation Theory

Cultivation theory, associated with George Gerbner and colleagues, argues that sustained exposure to recurring media patterns may shape audiences’ perceptions of social reality. The original research focused heavily on television, particularly the relationship between television viewing and beliefs about crime, violence and social danger.

The theory does not claim that one programme immediately changes behaviour. It proposes that repeated, stable patterns can gradually cultivate assumptions about what the world is like. Heavy viewers may come to perceive the social world in ways that resemble the recurring media world, especially when they have limited direct experience with the issue.

Important concepts include:

• Mainstreaming: Differences among groups may become less visible when heavy exposure produces common assumptions.
• Resonance: Media messages may have stronger effects when they correspond with a person’s direct experience or social environment.
• Mean-world perceptions: Heavy exposure to violent or threatening content may be associated with exaggerated perceptions of danger.

Contemporary media complicate cultivation research. Audiences no longer receive only a common television flow; they use on-demand services, personalised feeds, games, video platforms and niche communities. This may reduce a single shared media world while increasing intensive exposure to selected content. The relevant question is increasingly not only how much media people consume, but what patterns of content, recommendation and repetition they encounter.

Managers should consider cumulative representation. Repeated stereotypes concerning gender, ethnicity, disability, class or nationality may normalise particular social assumptions even when individual items appear harmless. Content diversity, representative commissioning and regular content audits are therefore both ethical and strategic practices.

7. Uses and Gratifications Theory

Uses and gratifications theory reverses the question traditionally asked by media-effects research. Instead of asking only what media do to audiences, it asks what audiences do with media and which needs media use satisfies.

Audiences may use media for:

• information and surveillance;
• personal identity and self-understanding;
• social integration and conversation;
• entertainment and emotional release;
• companionship or habit;
• escape from stress;
• participation, expression and community.

The theory assumes that audiences have some agency, although their choices are constrained by access, income, culture, platform design and available alternatives. A person may watch a news podcast to understand current affairs, use a messaging platform to maintain relationships, or stream music to regulate mood. The same medium can satisfy different needs for different users.

For media managers, uses and gratifications supports audience segmentation based on motivations rather than demographics alone. A streaming service may design different discovery tools for users seeking relaxation, learning, social discussion or identity expression. Research methods may include surveys, interviews, diary studies, analytics and user testing.

The theory should not be interpreted as proof that audiences are fully autonomous. Platforms shape choices through interfaces, recommendations, pricing, notifications and data-driven personalisation. Furthermore, users may experience unintended effects, such as compulsive use or exposure to misinformation, while pursuing legitimate needs.

8. Diffusion of Innovations

Diffusion theory, developed from the work of Everett Rogers, explains how an innovation spreads through a social system over time. An innovation may be a technology, product, practice, format or idea perceived as new by potential adopters.

The perceived characteristics of an innovation strongly influence adoption:

• Relative advantage: The degree to which it seems better than an existing option.
• Compatibility: Its consistency with values, needs and current practices.
• Complexity: The difficulty of understanding or using it.
• Trialability: The extent to which it can be tested before commitment.
• Observability: The visibility of its results to others.

Adopters are commonly described as innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. These categories describe adoption patterns, not moral or intellectual qualities. Early adopters may influence others because they are trusted, visible or socially connected.

The diffusion process often involves knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation. Communication channels include mass media, interpersonal discussion, demonstrations, reviews and online communities. For a media organisation introducing a new digital subscription, a successful strategy might combine explanatory content, free trials, trusted testimonials, simple onboarding and responsive customer support.

Diffusion theory also highlights inequality. Adoption depends on affordability, infrastructure, digital literacy, language and institutional trust. A manager should not assume that non-adoption reflects ignorance or resistance; it may reflect rational assessment of cost, risk or limited relevance.

9. Gatekeeping Theory

Gatekeeping refers to the selection, filtering and transformation of information before it reaches an audience. Editors, journalists, producers, platform moderators, public-relations professionals, owners, regulators and algorithms may all act as gatekeepers.

Traditional gatekeeping decisions include whether a story is newsworthy, which source is quoted, how much space is allocated and when the story is published. Digital media have expanded the number of gates. Search rankings, recommendation systems, moderation policies, influencer choices and user sharing affect visibility.

Gatekeeping is shaped by several factors:

• organisational goals and available resources;
• news values such as timeliness, conflict, prominence and proximity;
• legal and regulatory risk;
• professional norms;
• audience analytics;
• commercial relationships;
• political and cultural power;
• technical architecture and algorithmic ranking.

The movement from scarcity to abundance has not eliminated gatekeeping. Instead, selection has partly shifted from deciding what may be published to determining what is made visible, recommended or searchable. This creates accountability questions. Organisations should disclose important moderation and ranking principles, provide correction mechanisms and monitor whether automated systems systematically disadvantage particular groups.

10. Two-Step Flow and Opinion Leadership

The two-step-flow model challenges the idea that mass media influence everyone directly and uniformly. It proposes that media information often reaches opinion leaders, who interpret, evaluate and pass it to other people through interpersonal communication. Opinion leaders may be community figures, professionals, activists, entertainers, creators or trusted peers.

The model is better understood today as a multi-step network process. Information can move through journalists, experts, influencers, online communities, group administrators and ordinary users. Interpersonal communication may increase credibility because people often trust individuals with whom they share relationships or identities.

For campaign managers, this suggests that effective communication may require more than buying media space. It may involve identifying trusted intermediaries, supplying accurate and transparent information, enabling questions and avoiding undisclosed persuasion. Influencer communication should clearly identify sponsorship and should not exploit trust through hidden advertising.

11. Media-Dependency Theory

Media-dependency theory, associated with Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur, proposes that media influence depends partly on the relationship between media systems, audiences and social institutions. Dependency tends to increase when people need media resources to understand their environment, achieve goals or maintain orientation, especially during uncertainty, crisis or rapid social change.

Audiences may depend on media to:

• understand a public emergency;
• make economic or political decisions;
• coordinate practical activities;
• interpret social conflict;
• gain emotional support or escape.

The theory predicts stronger media effects when dependency is high and when media resources are central, scarce or difficult to replace. During a natural disaster, for example, a reliable local broadcaster or emergency-information platform may become highly influential because citizens need timely information and have limited alternatives.

Dependency is not necessarily passive submission. Audiences may compare sources, verify claims and shift platforms. However, concentrated ownership or infrastructure failure can create serious power asymmetries. Media managers therefore have a public responsibility to maintain accuracy, accessibility, continuity and correction procedures, especially when audiences are highly dependent.

12. Comparing the Major Theories

No single theory explains every media outcome. A public-health campaign, for example, may use transmission planning to distribute messages, agenda setting to increase issue salience, framing to define prevention, two-step flow to work through trusted community figures, uses and gratifications to tailor content to audience needs, and diffusion theory to encourage adoption of a health practice.

13. Applied Case: An Illustrative Flood-Information Campaign

Background

The following is a fictional illustrative case. A regional media organisation operates radio, a news website, a mobile application and social-media accounts. Severe flooding is forecast for several districts. The organisation must inform residents quickly while maintaining accuracy and public trust.

Problem

The organisation faces three risks: residents may not receive warnings, contradictory information may circulate online, and repeated images of destruction may increase panic without helping people act. Some communities have limited internet access and use local-language radio as their primary source.

Analysis through the theories

A transmission model identifies the source, message, channel, audience and desired response. The desired response is not simply awareness; it is verified preparation and safe evacuation where required.

Agenda-setting indicates that flood risk must receive sustained prominence rather than being mentioned once among routine news. Framing requires careful emphasis on practical action, verified evidence and community safety rather than sensational blame or fear.

Gatekeeping becomes critical because unverified evacuation maps, old photographs and rumours must not be amplified. Editors and platform managers need a rapid verification process. Two-step flow suggests working with local emergency officials, community leaders and trusted local presenters who can explain information in accessible language.

Media-dependency theory predicts strong influence because residents need timely information during uncertainty. This increases the organisation’s ethical obligations. Uses and gratifications reminds managers that audiences may seek not only warnings but also transport information, family-contact guidance, reassurance and opportunities to report local conditions.

Approach and solution

The organisation establishes a cross-platform information desk. It publishes a consistent set of verified facts, clearly timestamps updates and separates confirmed information from developing reports. Radio broadcasts use local languages and repeat essential instructions. The website provides accessible maps and text alternatives. Social-media posts direct users to the verified information hub rather than reproducing uncertain claims. Presenters interview emergency officials and local community representatives, while corrections are issued promptly and visibly.

Outcome

The organisation records increased engagement with verified updates, fewer repetitions of false evacuation notices and positive feedback from communities with limited internet access. The campaign does not eliminate uncertainty, but it improves the reliability and usability of public communication.

Learning points

1. Media effects depend on context, need and trust, not merely exposure.
2. Prominence and framing must be matched with actionable information.
3. Gatekeeping is both an editorial and a technological responsibility.
4. Interpersonal networks can extend the reach and credibility of institutional communication.
5. In high-dependency situations, accuracy and accessibility are ethical necessities rather than optional qualities.

14. Professional, Ethical and Governance Implications

Communication theories have direct implications for managerial practice. First, managers should distinguish reach from effect. Impressions, views or downloads indicate exposure, not necessarily understanding or behavioural change. Evaluation should combine quantitative indicators with qualitative evidence, such as comprehension tests, interviews, complaints and community feedback.

Second, organisations should audit representation and framing. Editorial policies should address stereotyping, sensationalism, conflicts of interest, source diversity and the treatment of vulnerable people. Images and personal data require consent and responsible handling, especially during crises.

Third, algorithmic systems should be governed. Recommendation and moderation tools can increase relevance and efficiency, but they may reproduce historical bias, reward sensational content or create opaque decisions. Human oversight, documented standards, appeal mechanisms and periodic impact assessments are appropriate safeguards.

Fourth, persuasive communication should respect autonomy. Sponsorship, political advertising, influencer relationships and synthetic or AI-generated content should be clearly identified. Media organisations should not exploit users’ psychological vulnerabilities through deceptive design or covert targeting.

Finally, media managers should understand that influence is distributed unevenly. Ownership concentration, unequal access, language barriers and platform dependency affect who can speak, who is heard and who is excluded. Responsible management therefore includes pluralism, accessibility, correction, transparency and public accountability.

15. Contemporary Developments

Digital platforms have not made classical theories irrelevant; they have made communication more complex. Users are simultaneously audiences, producers, distributors and data sources. Personalised algorithms can create different agendas for different users. Influencers and online communities complicate the two-step-flow model. Search engines and recommendation systems extend gatekeeping. On-demand media may produce highly individualised patterns of cultivation rather than one common television culture.

Artificial intelligence introduces further challenges. Automated systems can recommend, classify, moderate, translate or generate content. These functions may increase speed and accessibility, but they can also produce inaccurate, biased or synthetic material. Applying communication theory to AI requires attention to the organisations that design systems, the data used to train them, the interfaces through which users encounter them and the feedback loops created by user behaviour.

A sound professional approach is theory-informed but evidence-led. Managers should formulate a clear communication objective, identify relevant audiences and dependencies, test messages, monitor unintended effects, disclose important system features and revise practice when evidence shows harm or exclusion.

Chapter Summary

Communication theories provide complementary ways to understand media organisations and their effects. Transmission models explain message movement, channel selection and noise, while interaction and transaction models emphasise feedback, context and co-created meaning. Agenda-setting concerns the perceived importance of issues; framing concerns the interpretation and evaluation of issues; and cultivation concerns the gradual influence of recurring media patterns.

Uses and gratifications treats audiences as motivated users who select media to satisfy needs, although their choices are shaped by platform and social conditions. Diffusion of innovations explains how new practices spread through time and networks. Gatekeeping examines how editors, institutions, algorithms and users select and rank information. Two-step flow highlights the role of interpersonal networks and opinion leaders. Media-dependency theory explains why media influence may become especially powerful during uncertainty, crisis or social change.

For media managers, the central lesson is that exposure alone does not explain influence. Effects depend on meaning, repetition, social networks, institutional power, audience needs, trust and context. Ethical practice requires transparent selection, responsible framing, representative content, accessible communication, careful data and algorithmic governance, and evaluation that measures understanding and consequences rather than visibility alone.

Key Terms

Transmission model: A model that treats communication primarily as the movement of a message from source to receiver.

Interaction model: A model that emphasises two-way communication, feedback and response.

Transaction model: A model in which participants simultaneously create and interpret messages within context.

Noise: Any physical, semantic, psychological or technological factor that disrupts communication.

Agenda setting: The process through which media influence the perceived importance of issues.

Second-level agenda setting: Influence on the perceived importance of attributes associated with issues or people.

Framing: Selecting and emphasising aspects of reality to define a problem, cause, evaluation or solution.

Cultivation: The gradual shaping of social-reality perceptions through recurring media exposure.

Mainstreaming: A cultivation process in which common media exposure reduces differences among groups’ perceptions.

Resonance: Increased influence when media messages correspond with personal experience.

Uses and gratifications: A perspective examining how audiences actively use media to satisfy needs.

Diffusion: The spread of an innovation through a social system over time.

Relative advantage: The perceived superiority of an innovation compared with an existing alternative.

Gatekeeping: The selection, filtering, transformation or ranking of information.

Opinion leader: A person whose interpretation influences others in a social network.

Two-step flow: The process by which media information is often interpreted and passed on through influential intermediaries.

Media dependency: Reliance on media resources for understanding, orientation, coordination or goal achievement.

Media effects: Changes in knowledge, attitudes, emotions, perceptions or behaviour associated with communication.

Algorithmic curation: Automated selection, ranking or recommendation of content using computational procedures.

Review Questions

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the difference between encoding and decoding?
2. Define agenda setting and distinguish it from framing.
3. Identify three needs that may motivate media use under uses and gratifications theory.
4. What is gatekeeping, and why has it expanded in digital media?
5. Under what conditions does media dependency tend to increase?

Long Answer Questions

1. Explain the strengths and limitations of transmission, interaction and transaction models of communication.
2. Compare agenda-setting theory, framing theory and cultivation theory, using a media example.
3. Discuss how uses and gratifications theory changes the traditional understanding of the audience.
4. Explain diffusion of innovations and evaluate the importance of relative advantage, compatibility and complexity.
5. Analyse the ethical responsibilities of media managers during a high-dependency crisis.

Analytical / Application Questions

1. A news organisation repeatedly reports urban crime using dramatic images and anonymous sources. Apply agenda-setting, framing, cultivation and gatekeeping theories to analyse possible effects and recommend editorial improvements.
2. A media company introduces a paid mobile news application but adoption remains low. Use diffusion theory, uses and gratifications and two-step flow to design an adoption strategy.
3. During a national emergency, citizens rely on one broadcaster because internet services are disrupted. Apply media-dependency theory and the transmission, interaction and gatekeeping models to develop a responsible communication plan.

Multiple Choice Questions with Answers

Question 1

Which theory focuses primarily on how media influence the perceived importance of issues?

A. Agenda-setting theory

B. Uses and gratifications theory

C. Diffusion of innovations theory

D. Transaction theory

Correct Answer: A. Agenda-setting theory

Question 2

In communication, noise refers to:

A. Only loud physical sound

B. Any factor that disrupts or distorts communication

C. The receiver’s feedback

D. The intended meaning of a message

Correct Answer: B. Any factor that disrupts or distorts communication

Question 3

Which question is most directly associated with framing analysis?

A. How many people received the message?

B. Which issue is presented as important?

C. How is the issue defined and what solutions appear reasonable?

D. How quickly did an innovation spread?

Correct Answer: C. How is the issue defined and what solutions appear reasonable?

Question 4

Uses and gratifications theory views audiences primarily as:

A. Passive recipients with identical responses

B. Active users who select media to satisfy needs

C. Technological channels

D. Institutional gatekeepers

Correct Answer: B. Active users who select media to satisfy needs

Question 5

Which factor describes the perceived superiority of an innovation over an existing alternative?

A. Compatibility

B. Complexity

C. Relative advantage

D. Observability

Correct Answer: C. Relative advantage

Question 6

Gatekeeping in digital media may involve:

A. Only newspaper editors

B. Only government regulators

C. Editors, moderators, algorithms and users

D. Only message receivers

Correct Answer: C. Editors, moderators, algorithms and users

Question 7

The two-step-flow model highlights the importance of:

A. Physical transmission noise

B. Opinion leaders and interpersonal networks

C. Long-term television exposure only

D. Audience measurement alone

Correct Answer: B. Opinion leaders and interpersonal networks

Question 8

Cultivation theory is primarily concerned with:

A. The gradual influence of recurring media patterns on perceptions of reality

B. The technical speed of message transmission

C. The cost of producing a media programme

D. The immediate selection of a communication channel

Correct Answer: A. The gradual influence of recurring media patterns on perceptions of reality

Question 9

Media dependency is likely to become stronger when:

A. People have no need for information

B. Reliable alternative sources are abundant and equally accessible

C. People face uncertainty and rely on media for orientation

D. Messages are never repeated

Correct Answer: C. People face uncertainty and rely on media for orientation

Question 10

A flood-information campaign uses local presenters whom residents trust to interpret official warnings. Which theory most directly explains this strategy?

A. Two-step flow

B. Cultivation

C. First-level agenda setting only

D. Shannon–Weaver noise theory

Correct Answer: A. Two-step flow