Political agenda
Encyclopedia
A political agenda is a set of issues and policies laid out by an executive
or cabinet
in government
that tries to influence current and near-future political news and debate.
The political agenda while shaped by government can be influenced by grass-roots support from party activists at events such as a party conference
and can even be shaped by non governmental activist groups which have a political aim.
Governmental organizations such as Make Poverty History
and environmental groups such as Greenpeace
have been able to shape the political agenda at international conferences.
Increasingly the mass media
can have an effect in shaping the political agenda through its news coverage of news stories. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver
was able to shape the political agenda by running a series of programs which criticized the quality of school dinners in the United Kingdom
. This led to government action by education secretary Ruth Kelly
to improve the quality of meals which would not have occurred if not for such prominent and vocal criticism.
A political party
can be described as "shaping the political agenda" or "setting the political agenda" if its promotion of certain issues gains prominent news coverage, for example at election
time a political party wants to promote its polices and gain prominent news coverage in order to increase its support.
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
or cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
in government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
that tries to influence current and near-future political news and debate.
The political agenda while shaped by government can be influenced by grass-roots support from party activists at events such as a party conference
Party conference
The terms party conference , political convention , and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membership...
and can even be shaped by non governmental activist groups which have a political aim.
Governmental organizations such as Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland...
and environmental groups such as Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
have been able to shape the political agenda at international conferences.
Increasingly the mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
can have an effect in shaping the political agenda through its news coverage of news stories. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
was able to shape the political agenda by running a series of programs which criticized the quality of school dinners in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. This led to government action by education secretary Ruth Kelly
Ruth Kelly
Ruth Maria Kelly is a British Labour Party politician of Irish descent who was the Member of Parliament for Bolton West from 1997 until she stood down in 2010...
to improve the quality of meals which would not have occurred if not for such prominent and vocal criticism.
A political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
can be described as "shaping the political agenda" or "setting the political agenda" if its promotion of certain issues gains prominent news coverage, for example at election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
time a political party wants to promote its polices and gain prominent news coverage in order to increase its support.