but I don't think other theories look at power. they just look at other parts of media in contemporary society.
like how some people look at forests, others look at the atmosphere and others look at waterways. There is some interaction between the elements, but ultimately, they are different aspects of the world.
this is quite poorly-written as I'm just typing what I'm thinking for the essay, but this explains it more (and is my conclusion).
After a critical evaluation of the agenda setting approach to media in contemporary society, the primary merit of the paradigm becomes transparent. Power is central to the lives of contemporary citizens, as the very definition of power implies a greater level of control over another party. Without completely trivialising the concept, if a human being is stronger than another, then they are more powerful, in that particular attribute than their colleague. This attribute is not limited to strength; it could be money, beauty, respect or intelligence. As such, a power imbalance exists and the study of how it is dispersed and reflected in contemporary society is valid and justifiable.
The demerits of the approach, then, also appear translucent. Whilst agenda-setting theorists are within their rights to limit the scope of their analysis, an officious bystander must enquire about the world outside of power relations: there is more to be analysed than issues pertaining to who sets the agenda within contemporary media. These issues, as discussed, include the identification of how media messages are encoded and decoded, the correlation between the evolution of media and technological advancement, and the facilitation of interaction between media and their audiences.