Jean Monnet Module on Agenda-Setting in the European Union – ASEU
The Agenda-setting Power of the Mass-media
Prof. Stefaan Walgrave (University of Antwerp)
Description:
Does the mass-media influence the political agenda? This is the main question that will be discussed in this
lecture. A small but growing set of studies analysed the impact of the mass-media on the political agenda,
that is, whether and to what extent political actors focus (or act upon) problems following media priming of
those problems. The evidence is mixed. 'Subjective studies' (the analysis of what politicians say about the
extent to which their agenda is dictated by the media) found that mass-media have a massive impact on
the political agenda. 'Objective studies' (the analysis of whether and how politicians act following media
coverage of political problems) found that media do have a significant impact on what political actors do;
but that impact is limited and conditional upon a number of other factors. The lecture will provide a
theoretical framework for making sense of the political agenda-setting power of the mass-media, and show
evidence from a number of empirical studies.
Readings
Core Readings
Walgrave, Stefaan, and Peter Van Aelst. 2006. “The Contingency of the Mass Media’s Political Agenda
Setting Power: Toward a Preliminary Theory.” Journal of Communication 56 (1): 88–109.
Further Readings
Van Aelst, Peter, and Stefaan Walgrave. 2011. “Minimal or Massive? The Political Agenda–Setting Power of
the Mass Media According to Different Methods.” The International Journal of Press/Politics.