First level agenda-setting effects of the media in the 2016 U.S. presidential election
Date
2020
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Tartu Ülikool
Abstract
Agenda-setting theory supposes that media sets the agenda for the public by transferring the
salience of issues, candidates and attributes. The theory was first introduced in 1972 by
Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw, who studied the effects media had on the public during
the 1968 election. They found a strong correlation between the two agendas.
This paper will explain how the theory has grown since this first study. It will give a detailed
overview of the two types of agenda-setting commonly recognized, explain the main concepts
related to the theory and briefly explain current fields of research.
An empirical study was conducted to observe the first level agenda-setting functions of the
media during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Both candidate and issue salience
transference are studied and measured using correlation analysis. The first part of the empirical
study observes candidate salience in cable news and measures to what extent was it transferred
to the public in a short timeframe. The second empirical analysis studied issues salience
transference across all media.
The findings indicate that minor news items in cable news did not have an immediate agenda-setting
effect for raising candidate salience. Secondly, there is evidence of issues transference,
but due to limited data, no reliable conclusions can be made.