Explaining Media and Congressional Attention to Global Climate Change, 1969-2005: An Empirical Test of Agenda-Setting Theory Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Agenda theories suggest that problem indicator, focusing event, and information feedback enhance issue attention. However, few studies have systematically tested this. This study, using time series data and vector autoregression (VAR), examines how climate problem indicator, high-profile international event, and climate science feedback influence media and congressional attention to global warming and climate change. The findings confirm that these attention-grabbing factors indeed generally promote issue salience, but these factors may work differently across agenda venues. Attention inertia, interagenda interaction, and partisan advantage on agenda setting are also included and analyzed in the VAR modeling. Implications of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed in conclusion.

published proceedings

  • POLITICAL RESEARCH QUARTERLY

altmetric score

  • 21.08

author list (cited authors)

  • Liu, X., Lindquist, E., & Vedlitz, A.

citation count

  • 105

complete list of authors

  • Liu, Xinsheng||Lindquist, Eric||Vedlitz, Arnold

publication date

  • June 2011