What Is Agency?
Definition
Agency
Agency refers to the capacity of an individual to act intentionally and make choices.
- Agency is about who has the power to act, choose, and influence outcomes through language and texts.
- It matters both for:
- Creators (writers, journalists, advertisers, filmmakers, influencers): the choices they make when constructing a text.
- Audiences (readers, viewers, users): the choices people make when interpreting, believing, sharing, resisting, or responding.
Tip
- When you analyze agency, you are often asking two questions at once:
- Who is trying to influence whom?
- How successfully do they do it, and at what cost?
How Does Agency Imply Bias?
- Every text is built from decisions.
- These decisions are never neutral; every author has an agenda.
Purpose and audience influence
- A creator's purpose (to inform, persuade, entertain, criticize, satirize) influences what they select, emphasize, and omit.
- For example, an advertisement's purpose is typically to persuade you to buy, click, or believe.
- Because of this, advertisements tend to present information in the most appealing way possible.
Example
- In holiday advertising, creators carefully choose an attractive setting (the time and place in which the action happens) because it helps the audience imagine themselves there.
- You are unlikely to be shown a rainy beach scene, because that would weaken the persuasive effect.
Language, tone, and structure
- Creators can increase their influence by using an objective tone.
- This is a style that sounds neutral and factual, even when the text is shaped by a clear viewpoint.
Definition
Objective Tone
A neutral, factual style that avoids obvious bias, strong emotional language, and personal involvement.
Example
- In Animal Farm, Orwell often uses plain, report-like narration while delivering sharp criticism.
- This can make the message feel more credible because it does not look like an "argument," even though it is.
Why Do Author's Blur Fact, Opinion, and "Alternative Facts"
Definition
Fact
A statement that can be checked and verified using reliable evidence.
Definition
Opinion
A judgment, belief, or viewpoint that cannot be proven true in the same way as a fact, even if it may be reasonable or supported.
Agency becomes especially important when texts make truth claims, statements presented as things the audience should accept as real.
Creating the illusion of truth
- Some advertisers deliberately "play" with fact and opinion by stating ridiculous claims as if they were factual.
- This can satirize the idea of "alternative facts," things presented as true that are not true in reality.
- Paradoxically, this strategy can make the advertiser's other statements feel more trustworthy by contrast.
Analogy
This is like someone telling an obviously silly lie to make their smaller exaggerations seem harmless, so you lower your guard.
Fake news and audience agency
- Fake news sites often imitate the layout and style of real journalism so the content appears genuine.
- A major issue is that people may share a headline without reading closely.
Example
- A fake news site can be "known" to be fake by some readers, yet its articles may still spread widely because others share them quickly.
- This shows how agency is distributed: creators produce the text, platforms amplify it, and audiences decide whether to verify or circulate it.
Tip
When evaluating a news story, check: the publication, the author, the date, the evidence provided (data, quotes, sources), and whether other reliable outlets report the same event.
What's The Role Of Setting, Representation, and Reality?
- Texts do not just describe the world; they construct versions of it.
- Representation is therefore always framed by selection.
Selective framing in advertising
- Selective framing means highlighting some aspects and hiding others.
- In travel advertising, settings are chosen to match what an audience desires (luxury, adventure, low price, status).
Voice and authority in travel triting
- Non-fiction travel writing is not usually trying to sell. It aims to communicate a sense of people and places through description, tone, and personal reflection.
- That does not make it "bias-free," but it does change the relationship with the reader.
- The contrast between two city descriptions shows how agency works:
- A factual, planner-like description (landmarks, infrastructure, notable features) can create a sense of order and stability.
- A metaphor-rich, personal description can create mood and complexity, presenting a city as damaged yet hopeful.
Note
- Neither style is automatically "more true."
- Each style gives a different kind of access to reality: one emphasizes verifiable detail, the other emphasizes lived experience and interpretation.
What Is Audience Agency?
- Agency isn't only something creators have.
- Audiences also have agency, but it can be strengthened or weakened by context (time pressure, emotion, social media design, group influence).
Resisting manipulation
- Audiences exercise agency when they:
- Pause before reacting emotionally.
- Identify purpose (persuade, entertain, criticize, sell).
- Separate fact from opinion.
- Check evidence and look for what is missing.
- Consider bias (what perspective is promoted?).
Common Mistake
- Strong visuals, confident tone, and familiar layouts can trigger "automatic trust."
- Don't confuse professional presentation with reliability.
What's Ethical Agency And Responsibility?
Texts can influence decisions, reputations, and social attitudes, which makes agency an ethical issue.
Questions on ethical agency
- Is the creator being transparent about persuasion (for example, an ad clearly trying to sell)?
- Are facts represented accurately, or are they distorted?
- Does the text exploit stereotypes or fear?
- Could the text cause harm if it is believed or shared?
Hint
- When you analyze any text, you can map agency by asking:
- Who created it, and what is their goal?
- Who is the intended audience?
- What choices (language, tone, setting, structure, visuals) guide interpretation?
- What might be missing (counter-arguments, context, limitations)?
- How might different audiences respond, and why?
Self review
- What is the difference between a creator’s agency and an audience’s agency?
- Why is an "objective tone" considered a powerful tool for a creator’s agency?
- How does "selective framing" in advertising influence an audience's perception of a setting?
- What are two specific ways an audience can exercise agency to resist being manipulated by a text?
- Why is a text's layout or "professional presentation" often a threat to an audience's agency?
