scholarly journals Issue salience (Public Diplomacy) (see also theme or media coverage salience)

Author(s):  
Sarah Marschlich

The variable “issue salience” refers to visibility or prominence of a given topic or theme occurring in the news coverage and is used to explore first-level agenda-setting (McCombs & Shaw, 1972). In addition to actor salience and valence, issue salience is analyzed to describe and explore the news coverage on different events and public debates. Mostly, issue salience is measured as the number of mentioning a particular issue, topic, or theme.   Field of application/theoretical foundation: Issue salience is analyzed using content analysis across different subfields of communication and media research, including the field of public diplomacy. In public diplomacy research, scholars measure issue salience in the context of governmental communication on their official channels online and offline or the representation of countries in social or mass media. Researchers embed the concept of issue salience primarily in agenda-setting theory (McCombs & Shaw, 1972), analyzing it as an independent variable from which to derive implications of news media coverage on audiences’ perceptions on a certain object or examining the relationship between issue salience in the media and the public agenda.   References/combination with other methods of data collection: When it comes to analyses on issue salience and its link to public perceptions, a mixed-method study design incorporating content analysis in combination with surveys is used to validate issue salience.   Exampe study: Zhou et al., 2013   Information about Zhou et al., 2013 Authors: Zhang et al. Research question/reseach interest: Comparison between news coverage on Great Britain (in terms of themes) in U.S.-American and Chinese news media during the Olympic Games 2012 RQ: What were the most salient themes in British, U.S., and Chinese media when they covered the opening ceremony of the London Olympics? Object of analysis: Newspaper (30 media outlets across three countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, not explicated) Time frame of analysis: 24 July 2012 to 12 August 2012   Information about variable Varible name/definition: Media coverage salience:  Number of mentions given to a particular theme Level of analysis: Story Values: (1) Countryside (e.g., emphasis of British natural beauty and scenic sites) (2) Creativity (e.g., focus on British creative sector, such as arts, film, and literature) (3) Entrepreneurship (e.g., portrayals on entrepreneurs and investors, or global investment) (4) Green (e.g., emphasis on Great Britain’s sustainability and environmental protections efforts) (5) Heritage (e.g., focus on British royalty, museums, and historic landmarks) (6) Innovation (e.g., discussion of science and technology in Great Britain) (7) Knowledge (e.g., portrayals of research and development at British universities) (8) Music (e.g., mentions of British and music artists) (9) Shopping (e.g., emphasis on British shopping venues such as London as shopping city) (10) Sport (e.g., emphasis on sporting events or athletes, such as David Beckham) (11) Technology (e.g., focus on digital media, e-commerce, and IT services in Great Britain) Scales: Nominal Reliability: Krippendorf’s alpha = .90   References McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176–187. Zhou, S., Shen, B., Zhang, C., & Zhong, X. (2013). Creating a Competitive Identity: Public Diplomacy in the London Olympics and Media Portrayal. Mass Communication & Society, 16(6), 869–887.

1998 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mark Miller ◽  
Julie L. Andsager ◽  
Bonnie P. Riechert

Media coverage of presidential primaries is crucial to voters, and candidates often complain that news coverage fails to present their positions. This study used computerized content analysis to examine how the 1996 GOP presidential candidates framed themselves in press releases and how elite newspapers covered them. The analysis reveals that (1) candidate images were distinct in press releases and news stories; (2) candidate positions were represented differently in both; and (3) candidates were differentially successful in getting news media to reflect their positions. News media covered substantive concerns that were not included in candidate press releases.


10.28945/2544 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine K. Murphy

Content analysis of media coverage provided a setting for group work, critical thinking, research, and data analysis. The analysis was motivated by a series of news stories that had damaged the reputation of the local community. The question was whether local news coverage was negative toward the business community. A business class addressed the problem and found that articles that business would view as favorable predominated. Based on their research, the class formulated a public relations strategy. Although this setting is a business class, content analysis of news media would work in other classes that emphasize critical thinking and problem solving.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2874
Author(s):  
Amy Fitzgerald ◽  
Jennifer Halliday ◽  
Daniel Heath

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging technology used for understanding ecosystems, environmental change, and stressors. Cellular and extracellular DNA are collected from environmental samples instead of individual wildlife animals, and as such eDNA comes with associated logistical and ethical benefits. It is increasingly being used, yet to date public knowledge and perceptions of eDNA have not been explored. Given that most of the public gathers scientific information from news media sources, this is a logical first place to start. This paper reports on a framing and agenda-setting analysis of news media coverage of eDNA in Canada and the United States from 2000 to 2020. The findings indicate that eDNA is being framed as an emerging and powerful tool, although questions regarding its validity and reliability are raised vis-à-vis identifying the presence of invasive species. Less than half of the news articles analyzed address broader social or ethical issues in relation to eDNA, and the majority focus on the potential financial impacts of eDNA findings on development projects and business interests. The potential ethical advantages of non-lethal sampling methods used via eDNA sampling are not addressed, nor are the potential ethical issues raised by its potential use in bioprospecting, indicating that the current state of agenda setting regarding eDNA in these newspapers is focused on economic impacts, to the exclusion of potential ethical issues. This unfolding news coverage will likely be key to understanding public perceptions of this novel technology.


Author(s):  
Inge Hutagalung

In general, media coverage can have a strong influence on the reputation of a cultural heritage. Media coverage often has an effect on a cultural heritage’s reputation when ‘good’ or ‘bad’ news is reported.This amplifying effect has often been studied through the lens of agenda setting theory. The hypothesis behind the theory is that the frequency with the media report on an issue determines that issues’ salience in the minds of the general public. In other words, the media may not be successful often time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. The news media ‘set’ the public agenda.Since people cannot possibly attend no to every little detail about the cultural heritage around them, setting in communication is important because it helps shape the perspectives through which people see all cultural heritage in the world.In generating good news coverage about a cultural heritage, communicating with the media is one of important activities that should be maintained between communication professionals (in cultural heritage) with journalists. Keywords: media coverage, agenda setting, framing news


Author(s):  
Sarah Marschlich

The variable “attribute salience” is described as the characteristics of a given issue that is portrayed in media coverage or other communication channels. It is generally measured in addition to issue salience and issue valence in order to analyze media portrayals of events, actors, or public discourses. Attribute salience is often measured in order to explore how particular issues are presented (instead of which in general), thereby contributing to second-level agenda-setting effects (McCombs et al., 1997).   Field of application/theoretical foundation: Attribute salience is analyzed across different subfields of communication and media research, including the field of public diplomacy. In public diplomacy research, scholars measure attribute salience in the context of political communication or the representation of countries in the news media as well as on social media. Researchers embed the concept of attribute salience or issue attributes mainly in agenda-setting theory (McCombs & Shaw, 1972), analyzing it as an independent variable to derive with implications of news media coverage on audiences’ evaluations of certain issues.   References/combination with other methods of data collection: When it comes to analyses on attribute salience in the context of issues and its link to public perceptions, a mixed-method study design incorporating content analysis in combination with surveys is used to validate attribute salience.   Example study: Zhang et al. (2018)   Information on Zhang et al., 2018 Authors: Zhang et al. Research question/reseach interest: Effects of agenda-building of Chinese state-sponsored media on news media coverage in Taiwan and Singapore during Hong Kong Protest Object of analysis: Newspaper (several English newspapers and newswires published in China, Singapore, and Taiwan; not explicated) Time frame of analysis: 1 May 2014 to 30 April 2015   Information about Variable Level of analysis: Articel Values: (1) Substantive issue attributes (frame): (a) Conflict (b) Cooperation (c) Problem definition (d) Proposed solution to the problem (e) Responsibility attribution (f) Human interest (g) Consequences and outcomes (h) Morality and motivation to take actions   (2) Affective issue attributes (tone): (a) Negative (b) Neutral or mixed (c) Positive (d) N/A. Scales: Nominal Reliability: Cohen‘s kapp = 0.76   References McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176–187. McCombs, M. E., Llamas, J. P., Lopez-Escobar, E., & Rey, F. (1997). Candidate Images in Spanish Elections: Second-Level Agenda-Setting Effects. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 74(4), 703–717. Zhang, T., Khalitova, L., Myslik, B., Mohr, T. L., Kim, J. Y., & Kiousis, S. (2018). Comparing Chinese state-sponsored media’s agenda-building influence on Taiwan and Singapore media during the 2014 Hong Kong Protest. Chinese Journal of Communication, 11(1), 66–87.


Author(s):  
Matthew W. Ragas

While business news coverage has risen around the world in recent decades, scholarly research into this area has been limited. Scholarship on media coverage of public affairs topics has generally found that coverage patterns converge across news media outlets. This study probes for evidence of intermedia agenda setting among seven elite business news outlets in their coverage of transformational events: corporate proxy contests. The results find that the amount of news stories each outlet devoted to coverage of 25 large proxy contests in the U.S. stock market over a five-year period was highly similar. Intermedia convergence across this news content was also found to a lesser extent regarding issue and stakeholder salience but not, for the most part, with peripheral media favorability. This moderate overall overlap in coverage across media outlets suggests that the notion of a complementary media agenda remains largely intact. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
John V. Kane

News media play a key role in communicating information about political parties to the American public. However, our understanding of how media depict relations between elites and the broader party coalitions remains limited. Moreover, while research suggests that forced exposure to such information can affect political attitudes, it remains unclear whether citizens are willing to selectively expose themselves to such communications. To address these two interrelated questions, this study first employs a content analysis to explore patterns in news coverage of inter- and intra-party relations throughout the Obama presidency. Next, two survey experiments investigate the degree to which such relations affect citizens’ self-exposure to such information. Taken together, the analyses uncover two important asymmetries. First, throughout Obama’s presidency, mass media depicted a Republican coalition virtually always against the president, yet substantial discord within the Democratic Party. Second, though partisans show no propensity to consume news depicting inparty unity (vs. disunity), both Republicans and Democrats exhibit a strong tendency to consume news stories depicting disunity in the outparty. Insofar as partisans’ self-exposure to such information is a necessary precondition for attitudinal and behavioral change, these findings have notable implications for how mass media stand to shape partisanship in the United States.


1992 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Salwen ◽  
Frances R. Matera

There is a relationship between media mentions of certain foreign nations and reader/viewer learning. A study in Dade County, Florida, matched a content analysis of major media with results of an extensive telephone survey within the context of agenda-setting hypotheses. Cumulative correlations over time suggest that the amount of news coverage devoted to various nations was accurately perceived by the audience. Media coverage, however, did not appear to influence public assessments of foreign nations as friends or enemies of the United States.


2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Van Camp

Abstract For many citizens, news media are the most important source of information about relevant political topics and actors. As a consequence, it is crucial to investigate who gains media coverage and why. Leaning on two classic news sourcing criteria, suitability and availability, we claim that issue owners can be seen as good news sources. By combining a content analysis of television news with data collected through a journalist survey, we investigate whether issue ownership is a determinant of political parties’ news coverage. Results confirm that issue ownership is a predictor of parties’ news coverage, even when controlling for ministerial competences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-308
Author(s):  
Amelia W. Cole ◽  
Jennette Lovejoy

The mobile phone has changed the human–mobile device relationship, which has given rise to a controversy regarding the neutrality of technological devices. This study seeks to understand how news media portray mobile phone devices using second-level agenda setting that extends the model to the public perception of mobile devices. Conducting a content analysis (N = 630) of two major U.S. newspapers covering the years 1991 to 2015, this study discovered that news articles primarily communicated mobile phones as neutral tools.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document