Intermedia agenda-setting in a multimedia news environment

Abstract

This article analyzes intermedia agenda-setting processes during a national election campaign of 38 newspapers, online news sites, TV news programs, as well as a wire service, through semi-automatic content analysis and time series analysis. The theoretical assumption was that intermedia agenda-setting is determined by the production structures of certain media types, the opinion-leader role of specific media outlets, and issue-specific characteristics. The findings suggest that, despite previous evidence to the contrary, intermedia agenda-setting also occurs during election campaigns, with a short time lag of 1 day. Additionally, a medium’s opinion-leader role depends strongly on issue-specific characteristics, such as obtrusiveness and proximity, mediating the intermedia agenda-setting process. And the traditional role of print media as intermedia agenda-setters is found to be challenged by online news sites.