The power is not in persuasion but in setting the agenda via omission and commission

From Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini.

The central tenet of agenda-setting theory is that the media rarely produce change directly, by presenting compelling evidence that sweeps an audience to new positions; they are much more likely to persuade indirectly, by giving selected issues and facts better coverage than other issues and facts. It’s this coverage that leads audience members—by virtue of the greater attention they devote to certain topics—to decide that these are the most important to be taken into consideration when adopting a position. As the political scientist Bernard Cohen wrote, “The press may not be successful most of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling them what to think about.

I agree. The power is not in persuasion but in setting the agenda via omission and commission.