Network Issue Agendas on Twitter During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election

This study finds support for agenda melding and further validates the Network Agenda Setting (NAS) model through a series of computer science methods with large datasets on Twitter. The results demonstrate that during the 2012 U.S. presidential election, distinctive audiences “melded” agendas of var...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of communication 2014-04, Vol.64 (2), p.296-316
Main Authors: Vargo, Chris J., Guo, Lei, McCombs, Maxwell, Shaw, Donald L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agenda Setting
Audiences
Communication
Computer Networks
Computers
Content analysis
Election results
Elections
Mass Media
Media
Networks
Obama, Barack
Political communication
Political opposition
Political parties
Presidential elections
Presidents
Science
Social networks
U.S.A
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Summary:This study finds support for agenda melding and further validates the Network Agenda Setting (NAS) model through a series of computer science methods with large datasets on Twitter. The results demonstrate that during the 2012 U.S. presidential election, distinctive audiences “melded” agendas of various media differently. “Vertical” media best predicted Obama supporters' agendas on Twitter whereas Romney supporters were best explained by Republican “horizontal” media. Moreover, Obama and Romney supporters relied on their politically affiliated horizontal media more than their opposing party's media. Evidence for findings are provided through the NAS model, which measures the agenda‐setting effect not in terms of issue frequency alone, but also in terms of the interconnections and relationships issues inside of an agenda.
ISSN:0021-9916
1460-2466
DOI:10.1111/jcom.12089