what extent, does the mass media influence the public’s attitudes and behaviors?

For this week’s Forum discussion, watch the video Merchants of Cool athttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/

If you cannot view this video, read Article #9 Attribution vs Persuasion as a Means for Modifying Behavior in Reading About The Social Animal textbook.

After watching the video or reading the article, respond the following questions in your initial post on the Week 2 Forum:
How, and to what extent, does the mass media influence the public’s attitudes and behaviors? Do television shows and newscasts, for example, simply reflect what is happening in the world or do they carry the potential to actually cause real-life events? Apart from advertising, do you believe the members of the media engage in deliberate attempts to persuade people to adopt certain opinions and attitudes? 400 word minimum words. Must list references.