Issue and Strategy Agenda-Setting in the 2000 Presidential Primaries

This article builds on the previous research that focused more specifically on the candidate-media dynamic within the agenda-setting process and extends the research in the direction of strategy framing. Using VBPro, a computer program for content analysis, 1,479 candidate press releases and 756 network news stories were content-analyzed using key words in context frames. Results show significant positive correlation between candidate and media issue agendas, which were particularly strong for the Republican candidates. Appeals to audience frames were highly correlated between Republican candidates and the media. Autocorrelations used to measure the direction of influence suggest that the relationship between candidates and media is reciprocal. However, the process frames were significantly correlated only for McCain and the networks, which may offer support for the appearance that McCain and the media had a “love-affair” during the 2000 presidential primary.

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