While the traditional agenda-setting theory assumes that a unified issue salience pattern (“the agenda”) will transfer from news media to the public, the emergence of the Internet has challenged this classic communication theory in three ways: by providing two versions of the public agenda (i.e., self-reported issue importance measured by a survey versus social media expressions), by affording two versions of the media agenda (i.e., presented on news websites versus on organizations’ Twitter accounts), and by enabling potential two-way agenda-setting effects. This dissertation aims to construct a multi-version two-way agenda-setting framework via (1) elaborating on the theoretical and practical reasons behind the proposed framework and (2) empirically testing the framework by combining survey and digital texts data around the 2020 US presidential election. The results show an imbalanced two-way agenda-setting relationship, with the traditional media-to-public direction still stronger than the reverse. While the two versions of the media agenda were similar to each other, what people thought was found to be different from what they tweeted. This dissertation also explored the moderating effects of issue-, media-, and individual-level characteristics on the direction and strength of the agenda-setting effects. The issue-wise comparison showed stronger effects in both directions among obtrusive issues, compared to non-obtrusive issues. Interestingly, traditional, non-digital-native media presented a slightly stronger two-way agenda-setting relationship between their news tweets and citizens' tweets compared to digital-native media. This difference, however, was not found in news websites. Individuals with specific characteristics, such as being females, being older, being white, as well as having lower income, lower opinion leadership, and lower social capital, were more likely to influence and be influenced by the media agendas compared to their counterparts. Also, while the well-educated population followed the agenda of news websites more closely, the group with a lower education level followed news tweets on more issues. Finally, the last chapter discusses theoretical, methodological, and practical implications.

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The news media plays an important role in communication. The function of the media in a free society is to inform the public, be a watchdog of government, provide a voice for the voiceless, and help determine which issues should be discussed in the community. The power of the mass media to guide the social agenda and influence the public's perception of what issues are important has been questioned in the digital age. This study examines traditional agenda-setting in the digital era to understand how the theory functions in a computer mediated society. The #MeToo movement acts as a case study for this research. This investigation uses a trend analysis to evaluate whether the public agenda on sexual harassment and #MeToo was set by mass media or social media. This research compares the coverage of sexual harassment and #MeToo in professional online news sites in the U.S. with tweets using the key words and hashtag on Twitter in the United States for ten weeks in 2017. Relying on the agenda-setting theory as a framework, this study clarifies the relationship of mass media and social media in driving public opinion. The findings of this work reveal how the expansion and influence of social media has changed the dynamic of mass communication. Despite those changes, the mass media still plays a prevailing role in setting the public agenda--even in a digital environment. The findings conclude that the mass media set the agenda on the subject of sexual harassment, and social media amplified that agenda. These findings demonstrate the strong role that mass media continues to have in setting the news agenda in conjunction with social media, and consequently, on civic opinion and awareness.

Abstract   Wickzell, Arvid. Magic mushrooms or a miracle drug? The Swedish media coverage of psilocybin. Bachelor’s thesis, Umeå University, 2023.   Abstract.   This bachelor’s thesis presents a study on how Swedish mass media is covering the subject of psilocybin. With a social constructionist, critical discourse, framing and agenda setting perspective, the thesis aim is to analyze the media discourse around the subject and to answer the main research question; how does Swedish mass media report about psilocybin? The main question is followed by sub questions; (a) how is psilocybin being framed, (b) whose opinion is voiced in the media, (c) has the way mass media reports on the subject changed over time?   The research questions are answered by using quantitative research method, and critical media discourse analysis, on material from four Swedish publications, both web and print based. The material spans from the year 1995 to 2022. Results show a change over time. A higher interest in the subject, and a change in types of texts being produced. A new way to frame the subject, changing from articles mainly about psilocybin in a crime context, to articles about psilocybin in a medical context. The opinions that are being voiced in the media are mainly by scientists, medical professionals, and law enforcement.    Key words: agenda setting, drugs, debate, discourse analysis, framing, media, press, psilocybin, newspapers, Sweden.

I denna fallstudie har vi undersökt hur en krigsfilm kan använda sig av olika gestaltningar och representationer av “vi och dem” och därför riskerar att sprida propaganda och därigenom även potentiellt påverka dagordningen genom att påverka den rådande diskursen. Vi valde filmen American Sniper som empiriskt material då den är baserad på verkliga händelser och att vi därför kan se huruvida detta påverkar möjligheten att använda spelfilm för att potentiellt påverka diskursen. Genom användandet av en multimodal kritisk diskursanalys har vi tittat närmare på innehållet och maktrelationerna i filmen, för att slutligen kunna besvara följande frågeställningar:  Hur representeras och gestaltas “vi och dem” genom orientalism, nationalism och patriotism i innehållet?  Hur fungerar dessa fenomen tillsammans för att skapa ett innehåll som kan upplevas som propagerande?  Hur fungerar dessa fenomen tillsammans för att skapa en diskurs som potentiellt kan påverka dagordningen?  Analysen lutar sig mot ett teoretiskt ramverk bestående av representationsteori, gestaltningsteori, “vi och dem”, orientalism, patriotism, nationalism, propaganda och dagordningsteori. Studien analyserar scener från filmen valda utefter den anglosaxiska dramaturgiska kurvan. Genom att använda oss av analyskategorierna lexikala val, visuella val, narrativa strukturer och sociala aktörer tittar vi närmare på gestaltning och representation för att upptäcka olika framställningar av “vi och dem” i form av orientalism, nationalism och patriotism för att kunna besvara den första frågeställningen. I diskussionen redogör vi för hur dessa fenomen potentiellt skulle kunna ha inflytande över dagordning och att det med hjälp av olika strategier även kan sprida mjuk propaganda, vilket besvarar den andra och tredje frågeställningen. Resultatet i studien sammanfattas med att “vi och dem” gestaltas genom ofördelaktiga gestaltningar och en brist på individualitet vilket visar på orientalistiska diskurser i filmen. Detta, ihop med enbart positiva skildringar av de egna i filmen, visar upp nationalistiska drag. Genom hela filmen finns en känsla av patriotism genom huvudpersonens brinnande kärlek för sitt land och sin vilja att dö för att skydda det. Genom dessa gestaltningar blir innehållet i filmen vinklat på ett fördelaktigt sätt för USA och tack vare att filmen blev en biosuccé och fick stort erkännande i filmkretsar så kan innehållet komma att påverka diskursen och eventuellt även dagordningen. Därigenom tillåts det propagandistiska och vinklade innehållet att spridas till amerikanska invånare såväl som resterande delar av världen. / In this case study we have examined how a war movie can use different types of framings and representations of “us and them” and therefore run the risk of spreading propaganda and thereby potentially influence the agenda. We chose the movie American Sniper as our empirical material because it is based upon true events and real persons and we can therefore expect to see how this potentially affects the ability to influence the public opinion. Through the use of a multimodal critical discourse analysis we have looked closer on the movie’s content and the power relations within the movie to be able to answer our question at issue:   How does the movie represent and frame “us and them” through the use of orientalism, nationalism and patriotism?  How do this phenomenon work together to create  a content that could be seen as  propagandistic?  How do these phenomena work together to create a discourse that could potentially influence the agenda?   The theoretical framework used in the analysis consists of representation theory, framing theory, orientalism, “us and them”, patriotism, nationalism, propaganda and agenda setting theory. The study analyzes scenes from the movie chosen from the building stones of the classical dramaturgy. By applying the analaysis categories of lexical choices visual choices, narrative structure and social actors can we take a closer look at the framing and representation to discover different fabrications of  “us and them” in the form of orientalsim, nationalism and patriotism to be able to answer the first question at issue.  In the discussion we have given an account of these phenomena’s influence over the agenda setting and how they, with the help of different strategies, could spread “soft propaganda”, which answers the second question at issue. The result of the study can be summarized with the facts that “us and them” appears through the use of disadvantageous portrayals and the lack of individuality which shows the orientalistic discourses in the movie. This, combined with only positivistic depiction of “us” in the movie, shows nationalistic features. Throughout the movie a feeling of patriotism is mediated through the main character’s love for his country and the fact that he is willing to die to protect it. Through these representations the content is framed in a way that is beneficial for the US. And because American Sniper became a blockbuster and got recognized in the film industry with several awards and nominations, the movie’s content can influence the discourse and furthermore perhaps the agenda. Through this the propagandistic content is distributed to American citizens as well as the rest of the world.

本論の目的は、アジェンダセッティングの視点から、日本には存在しないスポーツ放送政策の構築を検討するものである。本論では、イギリスの特別指定行事をめぐる放送法改正の議論および法政策の決定過程を、スポーツ放送政策の参考事例として分析した。そこから得た課題を基に、アジェンダセッティングの各段階に応じてスポーツ放送の政策形成過程を分析検討し、最後に実現可能性を高める政策資源の課題を示した。 / The purpose of this paper is to consider the construction of sports broadcasting policies that do not exist in Japan from the viewpoint of agenda setting. In this paper, I analyzed the discussion on the revision of the broadcasting law and the decision process of the legal policy over listed events in the UK as a reference example of sports broadcasting policy. Based on the issues obtained from this, we analyzed the policy formation process of sports broadcasting according to each stage of the agenda setting, and finally showed the issues of policy resources to increase the feasibility. / 博士(政策科学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Policy and Management / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

European Politics and Society Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme MA Thesis Attitudes towards European Integration in the Western Balkans: Euroscepticism and Europhilia in North Macedonia Maria Paschalina Dimopoulou Abstract The progress in the integration of EU candidate member states is determined by the level of democratization they have achieved, the level of success in the transition to market economy, the rule of law development and the ability to fulfill the conditions obligatory for member states. The attitudes towards the prospect of membership range from fervent enthusiasm to severe skepticism, depending on the length of the process, the success or lack thereof in the institutional transformation, the compatibility of the European values with traditional norms and region-specific reasons. There have been many studies focusing on the Central and East European former candidate states, while contemporary research on the Western Balkan region is rather focused on the EU's enlargement fatigue and conditionality failure. This thesis attempts to examine the role of domestic media of a candidate state in shaping the public opinion and the possible role of the political parties using the media to project their agendas on integration. The case study of North Macedonia proves the positive connection...

This diploma thesis deals with the framing of the Black Lives Matter movement and related protests in the Czech news media. The aim of this work is to reveal the way in which the Czech media informed about the Black Lives Matter movement with the help of quantitative content framing analysis. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the theory of social and media construction of reality by Berger and Luckmann, which plays the role of an overarching theory. It also deals with the agenda-setting theory, which it expands with the concept of framing. The agenda-setting theory describes the ability of the mass media to influence the significance of topics in the eyes of the public. The theoretical part also describes a brief history of the Black Lives Matter movement and the events that led to its emergence. Furthermore, the relationship of the mass media to racism is introduced and the concept of the protest paradigm is introduced. The work then describes the previous findings of the protest paradigm, which are then used in the analytical part. The methodological part then presents the research goal, questions and hypotheses, defines the sample set and the research method used, including the characteristics of individual variables. The analytical part of the thesis presents the results of the...

Since the 1990s, Sweden's societies has changed in terms of the prevalence and spread of criminal environments. Gun violence in criminal environments has become more frequent and has grown during the last couple of years. The police explains the increased gun violence through organized crime. Previous research has showed that newspapers portrayal of gang crime lacks in a distinct definition of the criminality and are more likely to use condescending descriptions rather than positive ones. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate how the Swedish news media portray and describe gang crime in terms of attribute and definition. To enable the survey, a qualitative content analysis with a limited selection of newspaper articles were used. The study has been conducted with two theories, framing theory and the agenda-setting theory to create an understanding of the news media's presentation of gang crime. To achieve the aim of the study, 18 articles in three newspapers were used in a process of coding to highlight the descriptions of gang crime. The results of the study demonstrated in two main categories and six subcategories. The results of the collected empirical evidence showed that gang crime was presented mainly in a negative way to describe vulnerable areas, young men, shootings and rappers. The results also showed that the definition in Swedish news media is vague and lacks a clear description of what the issue is about.

Soil is essentially irreversibly damaged when covered with impervious artificialsurfaces, a process known as soil sealing. Previous research on soil sealing policiesmainly studied strategies for effective local policy implementation. However, ifeffective implementation of soil sealing policies is to be considered, soil sealing policiesshould be on the local agenda. Therefore, this master thesis explored the local agendasetting of soil sealing. It drew on the Multiple Streams Approach and studied the agendasetting with respect to problem recognition, policy generation and actors’ engagement.Four Swedish municipalities with urban areas where soil sealing was already on thelocal agenda were examined. An analysis of policy documents and interviews withmunicipal civils servants and politicians enabled a comparison of the local agendasetting processes of soil sealing. The results showed general similarities in the problemrecognition by indicators and feedback, but differences in the importance of focusingevents. In one municipality, a focusing event in the form of a flooding seems to havepushed the issue of soil sealing to the local agenda. A powerful symbol, with whichproblems with soil sealing were recognized as a problem of the ethnicity of the citizens,was arguably used in one municipality. The role of consultants, the importance ofinspiration from other municipalities and the value acceptability of soil sealing policiesin the policy generation process were similar across all municipalities. In onemunicipality, researchers’ involvement was significant in the policy generation process.Regarding actors’ engagement, this master thesis showed that politicians were notconsidered as engaged with soil sealing by civil servants across all municipalities.However, according to all interviewed politicians, they considered themselves asengaged with issues of soil sealing. Moreover, policy entrepreneurs most probably hadan important role in the agenda setting of soil sealing in one municipality only.