The public disclosure of environmental performance information—a dual test of media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory

1998 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel Brown ◽  
Craig Deegan
Author(s):  
Maxwell McCombs ◽  
Sebastián Valenzuela

This chapter discusses contemporary directions of agenda-setting research. It reviews the basic concept of agenda setting, the transfer of salience from the media agenda to the public agenda as a key step in the formation of public opinion, the concept of need for orientation as a determinant of issue salience, the ways people learn the media agenda, attribute agenda setting, and the consequences of agenda setting that result from priming and attribute priming. Across the theoretical areas found in the agenda-setting tradition, future studies can contribute to the role of news in media effects by showing how agenda setting evolves in the new and expanding media landscape as well as continuing to refine agenda setting’s core concepts.


Author(s):  
Maxwell McCombs ◽  
Iris Chyi ◽  
Spiro Kiousis

The agenda-setting role of the news media is a powerful influence on what we pay attention to and how we understand the vast world of public affairs that lies beyond our personal experience. Subsequent to the seminal Chapel Hill study in 1972, agenda setting theory has expanded beyond the influence of the news media on the public to elaborate the broader process of agenda setting. The scope of the theory now extends from the elements that shape the media agenda to the consequences of agenda-setting effects for attitudes and opinions. This article presents the results of two empirical studies recently published in the United States that further elaborate this process. One explicates how the press shifts its spotlight from one aspect to another of a major news event to build the prominence of that event on the media agenda. The second explicates the implications of prominence on the media agenda for the public’s attitudes and opinions about public figures.


Author(s):  
Alberto Ardévol-Abreu ◽  
Homero Gil de Zúñiga ◽  
Maxwell E. McCombs

The core hypothesis of the theory of agenda setting is that there is a process of transfer of salience from the media agenda to the public agenda. Since its original conception in the early 1970s, the explanatory model of ‘issue-agenda setting’ (first level) has been extended to help explain the transfer of the media’s ‘attribute agenda’ (second level) and ‘network agenda’ (third level) to the public agenda. This article provides a review of the agenda-setting model and its theoretical and empirical development, ending with a section that summarizes and discusses research studies published in this area in the last five years in Spain. Despite the broad influence of the agenda-setting theory in communication research in this country, Despite the broad influence of the agenda-setting theory in communication research in this country, many of the studies use the theory as a general framework for conducting a content analysis, withouh empirically testing any process of salience transfer. Resumen La teoría de la agenda setting establece como hipótesis central que existe un fenómeno de transferencia de relevancia desde la agenda de los medios de comunicación hasta la agenda del público. Desde su formulación en los años 70 del siglo XX, el modelo explicativo de la agenda setting de asuntos (primer nivel) se ha ido ramificando para poder explicar la transmisión de la agenda de los atributos (segundo nivel) y la agenda de redes –o relaciones– (tercer nivel). El presente artículo lleva a cabo una revisión del modelo y su evolución teórica y empírica, para acabar acercándose a su utilización en la investigación publicada en España en el último quinquenio. A pesar de la amplia repercusión de la agenda setting en la investigación publicada en este país, muchos de los trabajos utilizan la teoría como marco general para llevar a cabo análisis de contenido sin llegar a plantear (empíricamente) ningún fenómeno de transferencia de relevancia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  

Joline Cramer, Jaap de Jong & Frank Nuijens University media in The Netherlands: threats and opportunitiest University media in The Netherlands face a number of risks. This study explores which changes chief editors of Dutch college media and media experts foresee to deal with these threats and what opportunities they see to make university media future-proof for the next ten years. Threats are: the editorial staff is confronted with a growing international target group that is not served optimally, faces competition from numerous internal news services of the university and in some situations the editorial independence of editors is called into question. Opportunities: critical journalism is the oxygen for university democracy; critical news on all subjects and at all levels remains the raison d’être for the university media. Investigative journalism is seen as an important opportunity to set the university agenda and stay relevant. Connecting the international members of the academy to the university is the greatest challenge and opportunity. Keywords: university media, agenda-setting theory, network theory, innovation, investigative journalism


Author(s):  
Marlvern Mabgwe ◽  
Petronella Katekwe

This chapter evaluates the pattern and trend of mass media coverage of Zimbabwe's cultural heritage, with a focus on the newspaper publications produced between the years 2010 and 2015. The working hypothesis is that the level and nature of mass media coverage of cultural heritage is directly proportional to the nature of public opinion and attitude towards their own cultural heritage. As such, in order for cultural heritage to make a meaningful contribution to socio-economic and political developmental in Zimbabwe, there is a need for cultural heritage to be visible in all mass media productions. Using document analysis, questionnaires, and interviews, the research identified that the coverage of cultural heritage in mass media in Zimbabwe is alarmingly low. That jeopardizes the regard of cultural heritage as a driver for socio-economic and political development amongst the public. However, through reprioritization of media agenda-setting, media policy, and fostering of a closer collaboration between heritage managers and media professionals, the situation can be salvaged in Zimbabwe.


Author(s):  
Sebastian Desmidt ◽  
Kenn Meyfroodt

Abstract Does relative performance information (PI) still impact politicians’ attitudes when the potential for external blame or credit is limited? And, if not, is the active disclosure of PI about government activities with a low propensity for media attention an effective strategy for increasing the effect of PI? Despite the tendency to progressively disclose PI, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of publicly disclosing PI is almost non-existent. Hence, a survey embedded experiment was developed, building on self-determination theory and blame-avoidance theory, to assess how the provision of PI with a low propensity to attract media attention affects politicians’ attitudes towards resource allocation and whether this effect is altered by the public disclosure of PI. Data from 795 Belgian (Flemish) local councilors indicates that PI with a low propensity for media attention does impact politicians’ attitudes towards effort allocation but that public disclosure of PI mitigates the effect size in the case of negative-valence PI. Thus, the results draw attention to the unintended—and potentially dysfunctional—effects of the disclosure of PI.


Journalism ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qun Wang

Compared to its Western counterpart, China’s media culture has its uniqueness. The relationship between Chinese media and media users presents ‘Chinese style’ characteristics, especially with the rise of participatory journalism online. Based on critical reflections on the agenda-setting theory and existing research work on participatory journalism, this essay proposes three models of participatory journalism in the Chinese context. Depending on the interaction between media agenda and audience agenda, the three models are as follows: (1) the incompatible model, (2) the negotiatory model, and (3) the unconventional model. This essay aims to use these three models to demonstrate the notion of ‘journalism as process’ proposed by Robinson and the significance of the socialization and politicization of audience understanding.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogenes Lycarião ◽  
Rafael Cardoso Sampaio

The agenda-setting theory is one of the powerful study fields in communication research. Nevertheless, it is not a settled theory. Recent studies based on big data indicate seemingly contradictory results. While some findings reinforce McCombs and Shaw’s original model (i.e. the media set the public agenda), others demonstrate great power of social media to set media’s agenda, what is usually described as reverse agenda-setting. This article – based on an interactional model of agenda setting building – indicates how such results are actually consistent with each other. They reveal a complex multidirectional (and to some extent) unpredictable network of interactions that shape the public debate, which is based on different kinds of agenda (thematic or factual) and time lengths (short, medium or long terms).


1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Evans ◽  
Yuhchang Hwang ◽  
Nandu Nagarajan ◽  
Karen Shastri

This paper documents the responses of Pennsylvania hospitals to the public dissemination by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) in 1990 of mandated hospital disclosures of financial and nonfinancial performance information. We find that PHC4's relative performance disclosures had an effect in that hospitals that performed poorly on patient quality of care, as measured by mortality outcomes, reacted by making significant improvements in this measure by 1992, although this was accompanied by lower reductions in length of stay. Further, we find that the improvements in mortality outcomes were more marked for DRGs in more competitive environments and for hospitals that ranked higher on financial condition in the year of disclosure. Additionally, the rationale for these costly quality improvements in the period following the disclosure appears to be related to market share, that is, poorly performing hospitals lost, whereas better performing hospitals gained in market share.


Author(s):  
Marco Aurelio Moura dos Santos ◽  
Marco Antonio Barbosa

Resumo: Aborda-se a formação do discurso ideológico do Direito e a influência do agendamento promovido pela mídia na formação da opinião pública, bem como a apropriação e/ou a influência da mídia na formação do discurso jurídico. Consta-se que as decisões judiciais cada vez mais são divulgadas e comentadas por especialistas nos meios de comunicação, especialmente as mais polêmicas, o que produz reflexividade “causa-efeito” entre os agendamentos noticiados e a consequente influência no ajuizamento de demandas, provocando a indagação se a legitimação do discurso dos profissionais do Direito sustenta-se apenas em fundamentos jurídicos e sociais ou se também sofre influência ideológica dos meios de comunicação. Conclui-se que o discurso jurídico é resultado de inúmeras ideologias, intensamente influenciadas pela opinião pública, que por sua vez também é determinada pelo agendamento promovido pela mídia.Palavras-chave: Mídia; Opinião pública; Discurso ideológico do direito; Ideologia; Sociedade da informação. Abstract: This paper deals with the formation of the ideological discourse of law and the influence that the agenda setting promoted by the media has in the formation of the public opinion, as well as with the appropriation and/or influence of the media in shaping the legal discourse. It is noted that court decisions are increasingly disclosed and commented by experts through the media, especially the most controversial, which produces a "cause and effect" reflexivity between the reported agenda and the consequent influence on the filing of demands, which causes questioning if the legitimacy of the legal practitioners’ speech supports itself only on legal and social grounds or if it is also influenced by the media. It concludes that the legal discourse is the result of many ideologies, heavily influenced by public opinion, which in turn is also determined by the agenda setting promoted by the media.Keywords: Media; Public opinion; Ideological legal speech; Ideology; Information society.


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