Three kinds of agenda setting:

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Three kinds of agenda setting

• Focus of this talk is on who or what sets the
  news media agenda.
• Most studies so far focused on public agenda
  setting.

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Common to think that journalists set the news
media agenda.

• Several studies question this assumption.
• May be too simple to think of journalists as main
  agenda setters.

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Think of influences on media agenda as an
onionthe layers include
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This talk will consider three major influences

• News sources
• 2. Other news media
• 3. Norms and traditions of journalism

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Most influential news source in the United States
is the president.

• Can measure presidents agenda in State of the
  Union address and compare it to the news media
  agenda.
• Studies done for Presidents Nixon (1970), Carter
  (1978), Reagan (1982, 1985) and Clinton (1996).

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Why mixed findings?

• Study from 1981-1996 suggests issue ownership
  explanation.
• President is more likely to set media agenda for
  issues owned by his party, and follow the media
  agenda for other issues.

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PR (government commercial) is another important
influence on news agenda

• Sigal study found nearly half of Times and Post
  front page stories based on PR.
• Reporting of AIDS based largely on information
  subsidies.

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More PR influences

• Louisiana study found news coverage based
  substantially on information provided by
  government public information officers.
• City of Bloomington study found strong
  correlation between city council and media
  agendas.

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Political campaigns also an important influence
on news agendas

• Political ads try to control campaign and media
  agendas.
• British-U.S. comparative study found significant
  differences in agenda setting.

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More political influences

• Study of U.S. presidential election found media
  discretion in agenda setting.
• Study of U.S. primary elections found only
  moderate correlations between candidates and TV
  news agendas, as did study of convention speeches
  and news coverage.
• U.S. journalists not willing to let candidates
  dictate news agenda.

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• A Texas election study found influence of
  candidate advertising agenda on newspaper and TV
  news agendas.

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Evidence of New York Times and wire service
agendas on other news media.

• Pack journalism a la Timothy Crouse, author of
  The Boys on the Bus.
• Global warming study and intermedia agenda
  setting.
• Iowa wire service study.

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Intermedia agenda setting is not limited to the
U.S.

• Spanish election study
• German alternative press study (first and second
  level agenda setting)

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• Intermedia agenda setting produces a highly
  redundant news agenda within a single country or
  culture.
• News agendas vary across cultures and countries,
  depending on norms of journalism and politics.
• Study of political communication cultures in
  Germany and the U.S.

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• Agenda setting research has expanded
  geographically and in scope.
• Journalists alone are not entirely responsible
  for news agendas.
• Often a tendency to overestimate power of
  journalists to set news agendas.

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Journalists have more discretion in election
agenda setting when
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Studies of U.S. journalists show that most do not
consider setting agendas to be a very important
role for journalists.

• Some prominent U.S. journalists more willing to
  do so, such as the late Katherine Graham and
  columnist David Broder of The Washington Post.

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• Evidence on media agenda setting suggests agendas
  are constructed as
• a joint product between prominent sources and
  journalists
• between prominent media and other media and
• According to the norms and traditions of
  journalism in a certain culture or country.

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• Difficult to say whether prominent news sources
  or journalists have more influence in media
  agenda setting in general, at least in relatively
  free and open political systems.
• Uncertainty increases fascination with studying
  media agenda setting in different cultures and
  countries, and during different time periods.

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Need more research on who sets news media agenda
in different countries.

• Recent debate in U.S. over whether web sites such
  as the Drudge Report are main news agenda setters.

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Thank you for your attention!