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TEXT COMPARISON
FURTHER RESOURCES
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11th Edition
Scholarly and artistic references from the Instructors Manual and addition to the website
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Chapter 37—Agenda-Setting Theory
One of the most famous political statements about the agenda-setting function of the media is Spiro Agnew’s “Television News Coverage” speech (transcript of the speech is available online at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/spiroagnewtvnewscoverage.htm). Focusing on recent news coverage of Nixon’s handling of the war in Indochina, the Vice President argued that the liberal media elite unfairly influence both what Americans think about (agenda-setting) and how they think about it (framing). Somewhat ironically, Agnew’s successful attack on the press’s power demonstrated a very different point—the ability of politicians and their spin doctors to use media outlets to shape public opinion.
Theoretical considerations
Stefan Geiß, “The Media’s Conditional Agenda-Setting Power: How Baselines and Spikes of Issue Salience Affect Likelihood and Strength of Agenda-Setting,” Communication Research, Vol. 49 (2), 2022, pp. 296–323.
Fabrizio Gilardi, Theresa Gessler, Maël Kubli, and Stefan Müller, “Social Media and Political Agenda Setting,” Political Communication, Vol. 39 (1), 2022, pp. 39–60.
Amélie Godefroidt, Anna Berbers, and Leen d’Haenens, “What’s in a Frame? A Comparative Content Analysis of American, British, French, and Russian News Articles,” International Communication Gazette, Vol. 78, 2016, pp. 777-801.
Leo W. Jeffres, “Mass Communication Theories in a Time of Changing Technologies,” Mass Communication and Society, Vol. 18, 2015, pp. 523-530.
Amie Kreppel and Buket Oztas, “Leading the Band or Just Playing the Tune? Reassessing the Agenda-Setting Powers of the European Commission,” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 50, 2017, pp. 1118-1150.
Lei Guo, Hong Tien Vu, and Maxwell McCombs, “An Expanded Perspective on Agenda-Setting Effects: Exploring the Third Level of Agenda Setting,” Revista de Comunicación, 2012, pp. 1151-68.
Maxwell E. McCombs, Donald L. Shaw, and David H. Weaver, “New Directions in Agenda-Setting Theory and Research,” Mass Communication and Society, Vol. 17, 2014, pp. 781-802.
W. Russell Neuman, Lauren Guggenheim, S. Mo Jang, and Soo Young Bae, “The Dynamics of Public Attention: Agenda-Setting Theory Meets Big Data,” Journal of Communication, Vol. 64, 2014, pp. 193-214.
Anthony J. Nownes, “Can Celebrities Set the Agenda?” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 74 (1), 2021, pp. 17–30.
Joaquín Trigueros and Ivan Lacasa-Mas, “Colloquy with Maxwell McCombs at the University of Texas at Austin: Agenda Setting, a Limitless Theory in a Connected World,” Church, Communication and Culture, Vol. 3, 2018, pp. 53-74.
Chris J. Vargo and Lei Guo, L, “Networks, Big Data, and Intermedia Agenda Setting: An Analysis of Traditional, Partisan, and Emerging Online U.S. News,” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 94, 2017, pp. 1031-1055.
Hong Tien Vu, Lei Guo, and Maxwell E. McCombs, “Exploring ‘the World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads’: A Network Agenda-Setting Study,” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 91, 2014, pp. 669-686.
The media’s gatekeeping function
Bruce A. Williams and Michael X. Delli Carpini, “Monica and Bill All the Time and Everywhere: The Collapse of Gatekeeping and Agenda-Setting in the New Media Environment,” American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 47, 2004, pp. 1208-1230.
Monika Djerf-Pierre and Adam Shehata, “Still an Agenda Setter: Traditional News Media and Public Opinion During the Transition From Low to High Choice Media Environments,” Journal of Communication, Vol. 67, 2017, pp. 733-757.
Alexander Fouirnaies, “When Are Agenda Setters Valuable?,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 62, 2018, pp. 176-191.
Mark Lee Hunter, Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Maria Besiou, and Mignon van Halderen, “The Agenda-Setting Power of Stakeholder Media,” California Management Review, Vol. 56, 2013, pp. 24-49.
Richard R. Lau, Kathleen Rogers, and Jamel Love, “Media Effects in the Viewer’s Choice Era: Testing Revised Agenda-Setting and Priming Hypotheses,” Political Communication, Vol. 38 (3), 2021, pp. 199–221.
Matt Ritter, “Intraday Intermedia Agenda-Setting in the Manic World of Online News Reporting,” Southern Communication Journal, Vol. 85 (4), 2020, pp. 244–53.
Kathleen Searles and Glen Smith, “Who's the Boss? Setting the Agenda in a Fragmented Media Environment,” International Journal of Communication, Vol. 10, 2016, pp. 2074-2095.
Fan Yang, and Tongxin Sun, “Who Has Set Whose Agenda on Social Media? A Dynamic Social Network Analysis of Tweets on Paris Attack,” Communication Quarterly, Vol. 69 (4), 2021, pp. 341–63.
Agenda-setting in sports
James R. Angelini and Andrew C. Billings, A. C. “An Agenda That Sets the Frames: Gender, Language, and NBC's Americanized Olympic Telecast,” Journal of Language & Social Psychology, Vol. 29, 2010, pp. 363-385.
Ari Kim, Moonhoon Choi, and Kyriaki Kaplanidou, “The Role of Media in Enhancing People's Perception of Hosting a Mega Sport Event: The Case of Pyeongchang's Winter Olympics Bids,” International Journal of Sport Communication, Vol. 8, 2015, pp. 68-86.
Laureen M. Burch, Evan L. Frederick, Matthew H. Zimmerman, and Galen E. Clavio, “Agenda-Setting and La Copa Mundial: Marketing Through Agenda-Setting on Soccer Blogs During the 2010 World Cup,” International Journal of Sport Management & Marketing, Vol. 10, 2011, pp. 213-231.
Andrea Eagleman, Lauren M. Burch, and Ryan Vooris, “A Unified Version of London 2012: New-Media Coverage of Gender, Nationality, and Sport for Olympics Consumers in Six Countries,” Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 28, 2014, pp. 457-470.
John A. Fortunato, “Agenda-Setting Through the Television Programming Schedule: An Examination of Major League Baseball on Fox,” JMM: The International Journal on Media Management, Vol. 18, 2016, pp. 163-180.
Kevin Hull and Annelie Schmittel, “A Fumbled Opportunity? A Case Study of Twitter’s Role in Concussion Awareness Opportunities During the Super Bowl,” Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Vol. 39, 2015, pp. 78-94.
Matthew H. Zimmerman, Galen E. Clavio, and Choong Hoon Lim, “Set the Agenda Like Beckham: A Professional Sports League's Use of YouTube to Disseminate Messages to Its Users,” International Journal of Sport Management & Marketing, Vol. 10, 2011, pp. 180-195.
Agenda-setting in politics
Lei Guo, Yi-Ning Katherine Chen, Hong Vu, Qian Wang, Radoslaw Aksamit, Damian Guzek, Marek Jachimowski, and Maxwell McCombs, “Coverage of the Iraq War in the United States, Mainland China, Taiwan and Poland: A Transnational Network Agenda-Setting Study,” Journalism Studies, Vol. 16, 2015, pp. 343-362.
Alexander Fouirnaies, “When Are Agenda Setters Valuable?” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 62 (1), 2018, pp. 176–91.
Ashley Muddiman, Natalie Jomini Stroud, and Maxwell McCombs, “Media Fragmentation, Attribute Agenda Setting, and Political Opinions About Iraq,” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Vol. 58, 2014, pp. 215-233.
Kathleen Raso and Robert J. Neubauer, R. J. “Managing Dissent: Energy Pipelines and ‘New Right’ Politics in Canada,” Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol. 41, 2016, pp. 115-133.
Erin L. Rossiter, “Measuring Agenda Setting in Interactive Political Communication,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 66 (2), 2022, pp. 337–51.
Donald L. Shaw, Thomas C. Terry, and Milad Minooie, “Military Communication Strategies Based on How Audiences Meld Media and Agendas,” Military Review, Vol. 95, 2015, pp. 16-28.
Daphne van der Pas, “Making Hay While the Sun Shines: Do Parties Only Respond to Media Attention When the Framing Is Right?,” International Journal of Press/Politics, Vol. 19, 2014, pp. 42-65.
Chris J. Vargo, Lei Guo, Maxwell McCombs, and Donald L. Shaw, “Network Issue Agendas on Twitter During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election,” Journal of Communication, Vol. 64, 2014, pp. 296-316.
Michelle Wolfe, Bryan D. Jones, and Frank R. Baumgartner, “A Failure to Communicate: Agenda Setting in Media and Policy Studies,” Political Communication, Vol. 30, 2013, pp. 175-192.
Other applied contexts
Helen Dixon, Charles Warne, Maree Scully, Suzanne Dobbinson, and Melanie Wakefield, “Agenda-Setting Effects of Sun-Related News Coverage on Public Attitudes and Beliefs About Tanning and Skin Cancer,” Health Communication, Vol. 29, 2014, pp. 173-181.
Jiyoon (Karen) Han, Seungae Lee, and Maxwell McCombs, “The Attribute Agenda-Setting Influence of Online Community on Online Newscast: Investigating the South Korean Sewol Ferry Tragedy,” Asian Journal of Communication, Vol. 27, 2017, pp. 601-615.
Ilwoo Ju, Jennifer Ohs, Taehwan Park, and Amber Hinsley, “Interpersonal Communication Influence on Health-Protective Behaviors Amid the COVID-19 Crisis,” Health Communication, 2021, published online before print.
Pavlos C. Symeou, Philemon Bantimaroudis, and Stelios C. Zyglidopoulos, “Cultural Agenda Setting and the Role of Critics: An Empirical Examination in the Market for Art-House Films,” Communication Research, Vol. 42, 2015, pp. 732-754.
Larissa Terán and Tara M. Emmers-Sommer, “‘The Destruction of a Legacy’: Agenda Setting and the Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Allegations,” Sexuality & Culture, Vol. 22, 2018, pp. 63-89.
You can access Further Resouces for a particular chapter in several ways:
- Switch to View by Theory, then select the desired theory/chapter from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Look in the list of available resources.
- To quickly find a theory by chapter number, use the Table of Contents and link from there. It will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
- You can also use the Theory List, which will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
Resources
by Type
Instructors can get
additional resources.
Read more
RESOURCES
New to Theory
Resources?
Find out more
in this short
video overview
(3:01).
11th Edition
Scholarly and artistic references from the Instructors Manual and addition to the website
List mode: Normal (click on theory name to show detail) | Show All details | Clear details
Chapter 37—Agenda-Setting Theory
One of the most famous political statements about the agenda-setting function of the media is Spiro Agnew’s “Television News Coverage” speech (transcript of the speech is available online at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/spiroagnewtvnewscoverage.htm). Focusing on recent news coverage of Nixon’s handling of the war in Indochina, the Vice President argued that the liberal media elite unfairly influence both what Americans think about (agenda-setting) and how they think about it (framing). Somewhat ironically, Agnew’s successful attack on the press’s power demonstrated a very different point—the ability of politicians and their spin doctors to use media outlets to shape public opinion.
Theoretical considerations
Stefan Geiß, “The Media’s Conditional Agenda-Setting Power: How Baselines and Spikes of Issue Salience Affect Likelihood and Strength of Agenda-Setting,” Communication Research, Vol. 49 (2), 2022, pp. 296–323.
Fabrizio Gilardi, Theresa Gessler, Maël Kubli, and Stefan Müller, “Social Media and Political Agenda Setting,” Political Communication, Vol. 39 (1), 2022, pp. 39–60.
Amélie Godefroidt, Anna Berbers, and Leen d’Haenens, “What’s in a Frame? A Comparative Content Analysis of American, British, French, and Russian News Articles,” International Communication Gazette, Vol. 78, 2016, pp. 777-801.
Leo W. Jeffres, “Mass Communication Theories in a Time of Changing Technologies,” Mass Communication and Society, Vol. 18, 2015, pp. 523-530.
Amie Kreppel and Buket Oztas, “Leading the Band or Just Playing the Tune? Reassessing the Agenda-Setting Powers of the European Commission,” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 50, 2017, pp. 1118-1150.
Lei Guo, Hong Tien Vu, and Maxwell McCombs, “An Expanded Perspective on Agenda-Setting Effects: Exploring the Third Level of Agenda Setting,” Revista de Comunicación, 2012, pp. 1151-68.
Maxwell E. McCombs, Donald L. Shaw, and David H. Weaver, “New Directions in Agenda-Setting Theory and Research,” Mass Communication and Society, Vol. 17, 2014, pp. 781-802.
W. Russell Neuman, Lauren Guggenheim, S. Mo Jang, and Soo Young Bae, “The Dynamics of Public Attention: Agenda-Setting Theory Meets Big Data,” Journal of Communication, Vol. 64, 2014, pp. 193-214.
Anthony J. Nownes, “Can Celebrities Set the Agenda?” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 74 (1), 2021, pp. 17–30.
Joaquín Trigueros and Ivan Lacasa-Mas, “Colloquy with Maxwell McCombs at the University of Texas at Austin: Agenda Setting, a Limitless Theory in a Connected World,” Church, Communication and Culture, Vol. 3, 2018, pp. 53-74.
Chris J. Vargo and Lei Guo, L, “Networks, Big Data, and Intermedia Agenda Setting: An Analysis of Traditional, Partisan, and Emerging Online U.S. News,” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 94, 2017, pp. 1031-1055.
Hong Tien Vu, Lei Guo, and Maxwell E. McCombs, “Exploring ‘the World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads’: A Network Agenda-Setting Study,” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 91, 2014, pp. 669-686.
The media’s gatekeeping function
Bruce A. Williams and Michael X. Delli Carpini, “Monica and Bill All the Time and Everywhere: The Collapse of Gatekeeping and Agenda-Setting in the New Media Environment,” American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 47, 2004, pp. 1208-1230.
Monika Djerf-Pierre and Adam Shehata, “Still an Agenda Setter: Traditional News Media and Public Opinion During the Transition From Low to High Choice Media Environments,” Journal of Communication, Vol. 67, 2017, pp. 733-757.
Alexander Fouirnaies, “When Are Agenda Setters Valuable?,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 62, 2018, pp. 176-191.
Mark Lee Hunter, Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Maria Besiou, and Mignon van Halderen, “The Agenda-Setting Power of Stakeholder Media,” California Management Review, Vol. 56, 2013, pp. 24-49.
Richard R. Lau, Kathleen Rogers, and Jamel Love, “Media Effects in the Viewer’s Choice Era: Testing Revised Agenda-Setting and Priming Hypotheses,” Political Communication, Vol. 38 (3), 2021, pp. 199–221.
Matt Ritter, “Intraday Intermedia Agenda-Setting in the Manic World of Online News Reporting,” Southern Communication Journal, Vol. 85 (4), 2020, pp. 244–53.
Kathleen Searles and Glen Smith, “Who's the Boss? Setting the Agenda in a Fragmented Media Environment,” International Journal of Communication, Vol. 10, 2016, pp. 2074-2095.
Fan Yang, and Tongxin Sun, “Who Has Set Whose Agenda on Social Media? A Dynamic Social Network Analysis of Tweets on Paris Attack,” Communication Quarterly, Vol. 69 (4), 2021, pp. 341–63.
Agenda-setting in sports
James R. Angelini and Andrew C. Billings, A. C. “An Agenda That Sets the Frames: Gender, Language, and NBC's Americanized Olympic Telecast,” Journal of Language & Social Psychology, Vol. 29, 2010, pp. 363-385.
Ari Kim, Moonhoon Choi, and Kyriaki Kaplanidou, “The Role of Media in Enhancing People's Perception of Hosting a Mega Sport Event: The Case of Pyeongchang's Winter Olympics Bids,” International Journal of Sport Communication, Vol. 8, 2015, pp. 68-86.
Laureen M. Burch, Evan L. Frederick, Matthew H. Zimmerman, and Galen E. Clavio, “Agenda-Setting and La Copa Mundial: Marketing Through Agenda-Setting on Soccer Blogs During the 2010 World Cup,” International Journal of Sport Management & Marketing, Vol. 10, 2011, pp. 213-231.
Andrea Eagleman, Lauren M. Burch, and Ryan Vooris, “A Unified Version of London 2012: New-Media Coverage of Gender, Nationality, and Sport for Olympics Consumers in Six Countries,” Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 28, 2014, pp. 457-470.
John A. Fortunato, “Agenda-Setting Through the Television Programming Schedule: An Examination of Major League Baseball on Fox,” JMM: The International Journal on Media Management, Vol. 18, 2016, pp. 163-180.
Kevin Hull and Annelie Schmittel, “A Fumbled Opportunity? A Case Study of Twitter’s Role in Concussion Awareness Opportunities During the Super Bowl,” Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Vol. 39, 2015, pp. 78-94.
Matthew H. Zimmerman, Galen E. Clavio, and Choong Hoon Lim, “Set the Agenda Like Beckham: A Professional Sports League's Use of YouTube to Disseminate Messages to Its Users,” International Journal of Sport Management & Marketing, Vol. 10, 2011, pp. 180-195.
Agenda-setting in politics
Lei Guo, Yi-Ning Katherine Chen, Hong Vu, Qian Wang, Radoslaw Aksamit, Damian Guzek, Marek Jachimowski, and Maxwell McCombs, “Coverage of the Iraq War in the United States, Mainland China, Taiwan and Poland: A Transnational Network Agenda-Setting Study,” Journalism Studies, Vol. 16, 2015, pp. 343-362.
Alexander Fouirnaies, “When Are Agenda Setters Valuable?” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 62 (1), 2018, pp. 176–91.
Ashley Muddiman, Natalie Jomini Stroud, and Maxwell McCombs, “Media Fragmentation, Attribute Agenda Setting, and Political Opinions About Iraq,” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Vol. 58, 2014, pp. 215-233.
Kathleen Raso and Robert J. Neubauer, R. J. “Managing Dissent: Energy Pipelines and ‘New Right’ Politics in Canada,” Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol. 41, 2016, pp. 115-133.
Erin L. Rossiter, “Measuring Agenda Setting in Interactive Political Communication,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 66 (2), 2022, pp. 337–51.
Donald L. Shaw, Thomas C. Terry, and Milad Minooie, “Military Communication Strategies Based on How Audiences Meld Media and Agendas,” Military Review, Vol. 95, 2015, pp. 16-28.
Daphne van der Pas, “Making Hay While the Sun Shines: Do Parties Only Respond to Media Attention When the Framing Is Right?,” International Journal of Press/Politics, Vol. 19, 2014, pp. 42-65.
Chris J. Vargo, Lei Guo, Maxwell McCombs, and Donald L. Shaw, “Network Issue Agendas on Twitter During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election,” Journal of Communication, Vol. 64, 2014, pp. 296-316.
Michelle Wolfe, Bryan D. Jones, and Frank R. Baumgartner, “A Failure to Communicate: Agenda Setting in Media and Policy Studies,” Political Communication, Vol. 30, 2013, pp. 175-192.
Other applied contexts
Helen Dixon, Charles Warne, Maree Scully, Suzanne Dobbinson, and Melanie Wakefield, “Agenda-Setting Effects of Sun-Related News Coverage on Public Attitudes and Beliefs About Tanning and Skin Cancer,” Health Communication, Vol. 29, 2014, pp. 173-181.
Jiyoon (Karen) Han, Seungae Lee, and Maxwell McCombs, “The Attribute Agenda-Setting Influence of Online Community on Online Newscast: Investigating the South Korean Sewol Ferry Tragedy,” Asian Journal of Communication, Vol. 27, 2017, pp. 601-615.
Ilwoo Ju, Jennifer Ohs, Taehwan Park, and Amber Hinsley, “Interpersonal Communication Influence on Health-Protective Behaviors Amid the COVID-19 Crisis,” Health Communication, 2021, published online before print.
Pavlos C. Symeou, Philemon Bantimaroudis, and Stelios C. Zyglidopoulos, “Cultural Agenda Setting and the Role of Critics: An Empirical Examination in the Market for Art-House Films,” Communication Research, Vol. 42, 2015, pp. 732-754.
Larissa Terán and Tara M. Emmers-Sommer, “‘The Destruction of a Legacy’: Agenda Setting and the Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Allegations,” Sexuality & Culture, Vol. 22, 2018, pp. 63-89.
You can access Further Resouces for a particular chapter in several ways:
- Switch to View by Theory, then select the desired theory/chapter from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Look in the list of available resources.
- To quickly find a theory by chapter number, use the Table of Contents and link from there. It will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
- You can also use the Theory List, which will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
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