ABSTRACT
This chapter considers legacy media, including its role in debate and public perception, and distinguishes it from social media. Legacy media describes any news media prior to social media—e.g., newspapers and magazines with over a century of publishing history. While facing more legal responsibilities and costs, legacy or published media outlets worry about uneven legal rules privileging social media. Agendas directly impact planning and policy work, since they prioritize the types of problems we are asked to help solve. Published media influences political agendas, which prioritize the problems planners and policy analysts help solve. As planners and policy analysts, this might encourage us to closely follow how media portray local issues—especially where relevant to our assigned projects. The mediatization process can create new gatekeeping functions within government agencies, with both positive and negative consequences.
