Introduction
Mass media effects and the political agenda: Assessing its scope and conditions
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.What do we know?
- 2.1Symbolic vs substantial
- 2.2The influence is bi-directional
- 2.3Party type and position matter
- 3.What do we not (yet) know?
- 3.1System characteristics
- 3.2Context characteristics
- 3.3Social media as a new hybrid agenda
- 4.The contribution of this special issue
-
References
References
Baumgartner, F. R., Jones, B. D. & Wilkerson, J.
(
2011)
Comparative studies of policy dynamics.
Comparative Political Studies, 44 (8), 947–972.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Blyth, M.
(
2013)
Austerity. The history of a dangerous idea. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chaqués-Bonafont, L., & Baumgartner, F. R.
(
2013) ‘
Newspaper attention and policy activities in Spain’,
Journal of Public Policy, 33(01), 65–88.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Borghetto, E. & Belchior, A. M.
(
2020)
Party manifestos, opposition and media as determinants of the cabinet agenda.
Political Studies, 68(1), 37–53.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bosco, A. & Verney, S.
(
2016)
From electoral epidemic to government epidemic: The next level of the crisis in Southern Europe.
South European Society and Politics, 21(4), 383–406.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Budge, I., & Farlie, D.
(
1983)
Explaining and Predicting Elections. London: Allen & Urwin.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ceron, A., Curini, L., & Iacus, S. M.
(
2016)
First and Second Level Agenda-Setting in the Twitter-Sphere. an Application to the Italian Political Debate.
Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 13(2): 159–174.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dearing, J. W. & Rogers, E. M.
(
1996)
Agenda setting. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dood, L. & Oppenheimer, B.
(
2013)
The dynamics and dysfunction of the congressional budget process: From inception to deadlock. In
L. Dodd &
B. Oppenheimer (Eds.)
Congress Reconsidered, 10th edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 465–493.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Green-Pedersen, C., & Stubager, R.
(
2010)
The political conditionality of mass media influence. When do parties follow mass media attention? British Journal of Political Science, 401, 663–677.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Harder, R. A., Sevenans, J., & Van Aelst, P.
(
2017)
Intermedia Agenda Setting in the Social Media Age: How Traditional Players Dominate the News Agenda in Election Times.
The International Journal of Press/Politics, 22(3), 275–293.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Helfer, L.
(
2016)
Media Effects on Politicians: An Individual-Level Political Agenda-Setting Experiment.
The International Journal of Press/Politics, 21(2), 233–52.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hobolt, S. B. & Tilley, J.
(
2016)
Fleeing the centre: the rise of challenger parties in the aftermath of the euro crisis.
West European Politics, 39 (5), 971–991.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jennings, W. & John, P.
(
2009)
The dynamics of political attention: Public opinion and the Queen’s speech in the United Kingdom.
American Journal of Political Science 53(4), 838–854.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Joly, J.
(
2014) ‘
Do the media influence foreign aid because or in spite of the bureaucracy? A case study of Belgian aid determinants’,
Political Communication, 31 (4), 584–603.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jones, B. D. & Baumgartner, F. R.
(
2005)
The politics of attention. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kingdon, J. W.
(
2003)
Agendas, alternatives and public policies (2nd edition). New York: Longman.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Magalhães, P.
(
2014)
The elections of the Great Recession in Portugal: Performance voting under a blurred responsibility for the economy.
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 24(2), 180–202.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Midtbø, T., Walgrave, S., Van Aelst, P. & Christens, D. A.
(
2014)
Do the media set the agenda of parliament or is it the other way around? Agenda interactions between MPs and mass media. In
K. Deschouwer &
S. Depauw (Eds.),
Representing the people. A survey among members of statewide and substate parliaments. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 188–208.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Miller, E. A., Nadash, P. & Goldstein, R.
(
2014) ‘
The role of the media in agenda setting: The case of long-term care rebalancing’,
Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 34 (1), 30–45.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mortensen, P. B., Green-Pedersen, C., Breeman, G., Chaqués-Bonafont, L., Jennings, W., John, P., Palau, A. M. & Timmermans, A.
(
2011)
Comparing government agendas: Executive speeches in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Denmark.
Comparative Political Studies, 44 (8), 973–1000.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Neuman, R. W., Guggenheim, L., Mo Jang, S., & Bae, S. Y.
(
2014)
The Dynamics of Public Attention: Agenda-Setting Theory Meets Big Data.
Journal of Communication, 64(2), 193–214.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Paletz, D.
(
1998)
The media and public policy. In
D. Graber,
D. McQuail &
P. Norris (Eds.),
The politics of news. The news of politics. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 218–237.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Peeters, J., Van Aelst, P., & Praet, S.
(
2019)
Party ownership or individual specialization? A comparison of politicians’ individual issue attention across three different agendas. Party Politics, Online First
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Petrocik, J. R.
(
1996)
Issue Ownership in Presidential Elections, with a 1980 Case Study.
American Journal of Political Science, 40(3), 825–850.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pritchard, D. & Berkowitz, D.
(
1993)
The limits of agenda-setting: the press and political responses to crime in the United States, 1950–1980.
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 5(1), 86–91.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Santana-Pereira, J. A. A.
(
2012)
Media systems, information environments and media effects: A comparative approach to the agenda-setting hypothesis. PhD Dissertation: European University Institute.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sellers, P.
(
2010)
Cycles of Spin: Strategic communication in the US congress, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Semetko, H. A., Blumler, J. G., Gurevitch, M., Weaver, D. H. & Barkin, S.
(
2013)
The formation of campaign agendas: A comparative analysis of party and media roles in recent American and British elections. London: Routledge.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sevenans, J., Walgrave, S., & Vos, D.
(
2015)
Political elites’ media responsiveness and their individual political goals: A study of national politicians in Belgium.
Research & Politics, 2(3), 1–7.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Soroka, S.
(
2002)
Issue attributes and agenda-setting by media, the public, and policymakers in Canada.
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 141, 264–285.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Spoon, J.-J. & Klüver, H.
(
2015)
Voter polarization and party responsiveness: Why parties emphasize divided issues but remain silent on unified issues.
European Journal of Political Research, 54 (2), 343–62.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tavits, M.
(
2007)
Principle vs. pragmatism: Policy shifts and political competition.
American Journal of Political Science, 51 (1), 151–65.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Thesen, G.
(
2013)
When good news is scarce and bad news is good: Government responsibilities and opposition possibilities in political agenda-setting.
European Journal of Political Research, 52 (3), 364–389.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Thesen, G., Green-Pedersen, C. & Mortensen, P. B.
(
2017)
Priming, issue ownership, and party support: The electoral gains of an issue-friendly media agenda.
Political Communication, 34 (2), 282–301.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Valenzuela, S., & Arriagada, A.
(
2011) ‘
Politics without citizens? Public opinion, television news, the president, and real-world factors in Chile, 2000–2005’,
The International Journal of Press/Politics, 16 (3), 357–381.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Van Aelst, P., & Walgrave, S.
(
2011)
Minimal or massive? The political agenda setting power of the mass media according to different methods.
The International Journal of Press Politics, 16(3), 295–313.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Van Aelst, P. & Walgrave, S.
(
2016)
Political agenda setting by the mass media: ten years of research, 2005–2015. In
N. Zahariadis (Ed.),
Handbook of public policy agenda setting. Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 157–179.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Van Dalen, A. & Van Aelst, P.
(
2014)
The media as political agenda-setters: Journalists’ perceptions of media power in eight west European countries.
West European Politics, 37 (1), 42–64.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Van Noije, L., Kleinnijenhuis, J. & Oegema, D.
(
2008) ‘
Loss of Parliamentary control due to mediatization and Europeanization: A longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of agenda building in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands’,
British Journal of Political Science, 38 (3), 455–478.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vliegenthart, R. & Walgrave, S.
(
2011a)
Content matters: The dynamics of parliamentary questioning in Belgium and Denmark.
Comparative Political Studies 44 (8), 1031–1059.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vliegenthart, R. & Walgrave, S.
(
2011b)
When the media matter for politics: Partisan moderators of the mass media’s agenda-setting influence on parliament in Belgium.
Party Politics, 17(3), 321–342.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vliegenthart, R., Walgrave, S., Baumgartner, F. R., Bevan, S., Breunig, C., Brouard, S., Chaqués, L., Grossman, E., Jennings, W., Mortensen, P., Palau, A. M., Sciarini, P., & Tresch, A.
(
2016)
Do the media set the parliamentary agenda? A comparative study in seven countries.
European Journal of Political Research, 55 (2), 293–301.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wagner, M., & Meyer, T. M.
(
2014)
Which issues do parties emphasize? Salience strategies and party organization in multiparty systems.
West European Politics, 37 (5), 1019–1045.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Walgrave, S. & P. Van Aelst
(
2006)
The contingency of the mass media’s political agenda setting power: Toward a preliminary theory.
Journal of Communication 561, 88–109.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Walgrave, S., Soroka, S. & Nuytemans, M.
(
2008)
The mass media’s political agenda-setting power. A longitudinal analysis of media, parliament, and government in Belgium (1993 to 2000).
Comparative Political Studies, 41(6), 814–836.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Walgrave, S., Lefevere, J. & Tresch, A.
(
2014)
The limits of issue ownership dynamics: The constraining effect of party preference.
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 24(1), 1–19.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wolfe, M., Jones, B. D. & Baumgartner, F.
(
2013)
A failure to communicate: Agenda setting in media and policy studies.
Political Communication 30 (2), 175–192.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Dammerer, Quirin, Georg Hubmann & Hendrik Theine
2023.
Wealth taxation in the Austrian Press from 2005 to 2020: a critical political economy analysis.
Cambridge Journal of Economics 47:3
► pp. 633 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.