People who exercise influence over decisions made by others are known as:

People who exercise influence over the decisions others make are called opinion leaders.

They enjoy first-hand access to media and pass on their interpretations to those around them.

Opinion followers, by contrast, are the very people who take their cues from such leaders.

Transmitters name a device or role that sends signals, not persons of social influence.

Receivers are those at the receiving end of a message rather than the ones shaping decisions.

Opinion leaders are central to the two-step flow of communication described by Lazarsfeld and Katz.