A Study on Agenda Setting of
Television Public Service Advertisements on Morality
Abstract: For over 20 years, television public service advertisements in China have gained considerable progress, in which advertisements concerning morality account for a large proportion. These advertisements play an important part in improving the current social situation and promoting cultural and ethical construction. Type of issues and media distribution of television public service advertisements in China are both different; varied issues themselves also have undergone a series of changes mainly due to policy guidance, the pursuit of hotspots in media and audience’s promotion. The agenda setting of such public service advertisement is characterized by the reflection of the will of the government, the advocacy of social morality, the highlighting of humanistic concern, the emphasis on emotional appeals and an insightful vision of smallness, which has an effect on the audience’s awareness, attitude and conduct etc. Certainly, over the years, television public service advertisements on morality also have had some drawbacks in agenda setting such as the incomprehensiveness of the content of agenda setting, a strong attachment to politics, a lack of a long-term plan in agenda setting, the unwise selection of the launch time and the inadequacy of the number of their broadcasting etc. Hence, improvements should be made in these areas so as to promote a healthy development of television public service advertisements on morality in China and achieve better social effects.
Key words: morality; television; television public service advertisements on morality; agenda setting
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