Problem Political decisions can be affected indirectly via the mass media – creating public opinion – a process in which questions of public interest are brought up on the agenda. This is something that policymakers have to take into consideration. Purpose The purpose of the study was to investigate different aspects of the process of creating public opinion, in the way that it is being used and discussed in relation to political influence and the role of the media in that regard. In doing so, we wanted to create a comprehensive picture of the creation of public opinion as a phenomenon. Investigation We made the choice of conducting an investigation of relevant literature. With regard to the scope and purpose of the essay, the focus was placed upon Swedish literature. Four themes were recognized and formed the thematic disposition of the essay: Political communication – is the field, from which the creation of public opinion is derived and therefore, forms a central concept therein. Political communication is conducted within the framework of the democratic system and through the interaction of three central participants: citizens, decision-makers and mass media. The purpose of the communication is influence. Power and interest organizations – The theme sheds light on how the power in society can be understood from three different dimensions: the visible political power (the first dimension of power), control of the political agenda (the second dimension of power) and the control of thought (the third dimension of power). Different interest organizations have increasingly come to recognize the importance of influencing public opinion in order to achieve political influence. The role of the mass media – the media forms an integral part in the creation of public opinion: as a link between participants in the political communication; as a participant where the logic of the media determines the design of the messages; as an arena, where political participants seek attention; as a proprietor of the power over the citizens’ agenda. The function of the agenda-setting – the social issues, which are given most media coverage will also become the issues, which the public deem most important. Mass media does not decide what the public opinion should be but rather which issues the public should have an opinion about. There are three different agendas: the political agenda (questions that constitute the focus of political decision making), the agenda of the media (questions that are given prominence by the media) and the public agenda (which constitute public opinion). Media has the power to influence the public agenda, which in turn can influence the political agenda. Hence, interest organizations try to influence the agenda of the media in order to influence political decisions. Conclusion The creation of public opinion stems from a combination of a political science perspective (power and interest organizations) and a communication perspective (the role of the mass media) with its central theory of the function of the agenda-setting.