Who Sets the Agenda

This study examines four models of a two-step flow of the agenda-setting process, highlighting the role played by certain individuals (early recognizers) in mediating between the public and the media. The data sets contained coding of news items on the major German television networks from 1990 to 1993 and 28 surveys conducted in West and East Germany between September 1990 and December 1992, sampling over 1,000 individuals in each survey to study the public agenda. The findings highlight the role of early recognizers, not only in identifying emerging issues in the media and diffusing them among the public but also in affecting the media agenda. The study's important contribution lies in identifying the flow of issues from the public to the media and within the public, thus reviving, to some extent, the notion of the two-step flow of communication.

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