Setting the Agenda

News media strongly influence how we picture public affairs across the world, playing a significant and sometimes controversial role in determining which topics are at the centre of public attention and action. [i]Setting the Agenda[/i], first published in 2004, has become the go-to textbook on this crucial topic. In this timely third edition, Maxwell McCombs – a pioneer of agenda-setting research – and Sebastián Valenzuela – a senior scholar of agenda setting in Latin America – have expanded and updated the book for a new generation of students. In describing the media's influence on what we think about and how we think about it, [i]Setting the Agenda[/i] also exami…