Instagramming Issues: Agenda Setting During the 2016 Presidential Campaign

Abstract

Mass media can set the public’s agenda, particularly during political campaigns. In the social media era, the public can now also set the mass media’s agenda, resulting in intermedia agenda setting. This study’s purpose is to examine the intermedia agenda-setting effects between Instagram posts and mainstream newspapers during the 2016 presidential primary period. To test this relationship, a content analysis was conducted, recording the frequency of political issue mentions in newspaper articles and Instagram posts throughout the presidential primary period. Cross-correlations were then estimated to examine the direction of the influence of the frequency of issue mentions in newspaper articles and Instagram posts. Findings indicate differences between the salient issues in traditional newspapers and Instagram posts during the presidential primary. Additional results suggest a limited intermedia agenda-setting relationship between the issue agendas of mainstream newspapers and Instagram posts.