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Agenda-setting dynamics in Canada Soroka, Stuart Neil
Abstract
Agenda-setting hypotheses inform political communications studies of media influence (public agenda-setting), as well as examinations of the policymaking process (policy agenda-setting). In both cases, studies concentrate on the salience of issues on actors' agendas, and the dynamic process through which these agendas change and effect each other. The results, narrowly conceived, offer a means of observing media effects or the policy process. Broadly conceived, agenda-setting analyses speak to the nature of relationships between major actors in a political system. This study differs from most past agenda-setting research in several ways. First, this project draws together public and policy agenda-setting work to build a more comprehensive model of the expanded agenda-setting process. Secondly, the modeling makes no assumptions about the directions of causal influence - econometric methods are used to establish causality, allowing for a more nuanced and accurate model of issue dynamics. Quantitative evidence is derived from a longitudinal dataset (1985-1995) including the following: a content analysis of Canadian newspapers (media agenda), 'most important problem' results from all available commercial polls (public agenda), and measures of attention to issues in Question Period, committees, Throne Speeches, government spending, and legislative initiatives (policy agenda). Data is collected for eight issues: AIDS, crime, debt/deficit, environment, inflation, national unity, taxation, and unemployment. The present study, then, is well situated to add unique information to several ongoing debates in agenda-setting studies, and provide a bird's eye view of the media-public-policy dynamics in Canadian politics. Many hypotheses are introduced and tested. Major findings include: (1) there is a Canadian national media agenda; (2) the salience of issues tends to rise and fall simultaneously across Canada, although regional variation exists based on audience attributes and issue obtrusiveness; (3) there is no adequate single measure of the policy agenda - government attention to issues must be measured at several points, and these tend to be only loosely related; (4) the agenda-setting dynamics of individual issues are directly and systematically related to attributes such as prominence and duration; (5) Canadian media and public agendas can be affected by the US media agenda.
Item Metadata
Title |
Agenda-setting dynamics in Canada
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
|
Date Issued |
2000
|
Description |
Agenda-setting hypotheses inform political communications studies of media influence
(public agenda-setting), as well as examinations of the policymaking process (policy agenda-setting).
In both cases, studies concentrate on the salience of issues on actors' agendas, and
the dynamic process through which these agendas change and effect each other. The results,
narrowly conceived, offer a means of observing media effects or the policy process. Broadly
conceived, agenda-setting analyses speak to the nature of relationships between major actors
in a political system.
This study differs from most past agenda-setting research in several ways. First, this project
draws together public and policy agenda-setting work to build a more comprehensive model
of the expanded agenda-setting process. Secondly, the modeling makes no assumptions
about the directions of causal influence - econometric methods are used to establish
causality, allowing for a more nuanced and accurate model of issue dynamics.
Quantitative evidence is derived from a longitudinal dataset (1985-1995) including the
following: a content analysis of Canadian newspapers (media agenda), 'most important
problem' results from all available commercial polls (public agenda), and measures of
attention to issues in Question Period, committees, Throne Speeches, government spending,
and legislative initiatives (policy agenda). Data is collected for eight issues: AIDS, crime,
debt/deficit, environment, inflation, national unity, taxation, and unemployment. The present
study, then, is well situated to add unique information to several ongoing debates in agenda-setting
studies, and provide a bird's eye view of the media-public-policy dynamics in
Canadian politics.
Many hypotheses are introduced and tested. Major findings include: (1) there is a Canadian
national media agenda; (2) the salience of issues tends to rise and fall simultaneously across
Canada, although regional variation exists based on audience attributes and issue
obtrusiveness; (3) there is no adequate single measure of the policy agenda - government
attention to issues must be measured at several points, and these tend to be only loosely
related; (4) the agenda-setting dynamics of individual issues are directly and systematically
related to attributes such as prominence and duration; (5) Canadian media and public agendas
can be affected by the US media agenda.
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Extent |
13131051 bytes
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Geographic Location | |
Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-07-23
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0089818
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2000-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.