ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1

Annotated Bibliography

for

Agenda Setting Theory

Compiled by Michelle Maraffio

Southern Utah University

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2

Aruguete, N. (2017). The agenda setting hypothesis in the new media environment.

Comunicación Y Sociedad, (28), 35-58. doi:10.32870/cys.v0i28.2929

This study aims to understand how “New Media” fits within the conventions of “Agenda

Setting Theory” The article describes how new media like blogs and “Twitter”: express

public opinion, and whether or not the public and the media’s interactive relationship

helps further the “Agenda Setting Theory” influence. The method used was to

systematically review a variety of literature examining the traditional styles of media with

the new media. The research observed an assorted range of findings, determining that it

was impossible to definitively answer their posed question. Examination of weblogs and

social networks in relation to the agenda: political, media or public spheres. There is a

two-step information process that occurs within the new media platform and information

comes from multiple sources. Clearly, more research needs to be done to determine the

role of Agenda Setting Theory within the new structure of how media is circulated

. 

Camaj, L. (2014). The Consequences of attribute agenda-setting effects for political trust,

Participation, and protest behavior. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 58(4), 634-

654. doi:10.1080/08838151.2014.966363

This article explores the power that the media holds regarding Agenda Setting Theory

regarding a culture that is undergoing a political transition. It investigates the relationship

that the media has with public perceptions, trust, and participation with political change.

The method involved analyzing television, radio, and newspapers in the region, during a

specific time period. Additionally, they studied the connections between hierarchical

institutions in relation to a set of positive, negative, or neutral attributes. The major

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findings support that media content is related to the perceptions and understanding of

public issues.  Previous studies with Agenda Setting Theory emphasize the negative

effects of media influence. However, with elite challenging behaviors the media can

support trust within communities and increase self-efficacy. In conclusion, the article

demonstrates how the media can shape perceptions in a democratic way to support

positive change, especially during democratic transitions.  

Gruszczynski, M., & Wagner, M. W. (2016). Information flow in the 21st century: The dynamics

of agenda-uptake. Mass Communication and Society, 20(3), 378-402.

doi:10.1080/15205436.2016.1255757

The purpose of this article is to explore the dynamics of Agenda Setting theory in the 21st

century. It seeks to understand how “mainstream media, niche media or people with

respect to the issues” catch the interest of citizens to seek out the information.  They have

discovered a new way to measure how the mainstream media, niche outlets and the

public transmit the agenda of the issues. The method of this measurement is done by

comparing google searches, mainstream media, and niche media outlets. The article

explains that even in the fragmented, digital information environment Agenda Setting is

more complicated to study, but it still holds up as a relevant theory. Much of the agenda

setting in the 20th century is happening online. We see newspapers, magazines, social

media, blogs and even television all accessible on internet platforms. Many people use

their phones to receive their news. Political issues remain a driving force within mass

media, regardless of how one obtains it. This means at agenda setters continue to frame
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the issues in the way that catches a reader’s attention, but also attempting to inspire them

to think about these issues.

Neuman, W. R., Guggenheim, L., Jang, S. M., & Bae, S. Y. (2014). The dynamics of public

attention: Agenda-Setting theory meets big data. Journal of Communication, 64(2), 193-214.

doi:10.1111/jcom.12088

The exploration of how big data affects Agenda Setting, the article asks the traditional

“Agenda Setting Theory” question, “Who is setting the agenda for this type of media?” 

Researchers discover they are asking the wrong question. “Big data”, blogs, tweets and

online news are disseminated and digested differently and more complex than traditional

agenda setting of the past. The methodology of the study framed a set of vectors, using

keywords in relation to the type of media used and “the most important issues”

discussed.  Central findings were that social issues appeared to be of more relevance, than

economic issues. They did not discover the answer to who sets the agenda. Instead they

learned that this form of media is more useful to understand what people are concerned

about. It was useful to learn that this methodology should be a compliment to carefully

designed surveys and experiments. 

Searles, K., & Smith, G. (2016). Who’s the boss? Setting the agenda in a fragmented media

environment. International Journal of Communication, 10, 2074-2095.

The main purpose of this study was to determine the influence of traditional news media

regarding public agenda and if agenda setting endures in the traditional form or in an

alternative form, regarding the economy. They examined a combination of economic

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coverage from 2008, partisan news and public agenda setting. The method used the

National Annenberg Election Survey and content data from the News Coverage Index,

with a cross sectional over-time survey data.  When examining traditional agenda setting,

it found no evidence of influence. However, partisan news viewers are most likely to be

influenced by the agenda. They also discovered that consumers have an influence over

agenda in the traditional way. The discoveries in this study help us to build upon this type

of research and how traditional agenda setting holds up with the current partisan

divisiveness in news media.