The Center for Communication and Civic Engagement, The Center for American Politics and Public Policy, and the Communication Department Colloquium Series invite you to an upcoming talk of Prof. Stefaan Walgrave (University of Antwerp, Belgium). His talk is titled, “The political agenda-setting power of the media” (see abstract and bio below).
Monday, November 3
Noon to 1:15 p.m.
CMU 126.
Lunch provided for the first 12 who arrive!
Abstract: Does mass media coverage affect the priorities of political actors (parliament, government, parties, president)? The lecture offers a tentative answer to that question. Media matter sometimes and sometimes they do not. Hence, research should focus on defining the precise circumstances leading to media impact or the absence thereof (one of the most important moderators of media impact, for example, are elections: in election times media have less impact). To that end, the lecture analyzes the available studies, proposes several methodological approaches, sketches a preliminary theory of media impact on politics, and tests parts of this theory based on a series of studies conducted mainly in Belgium but also elsewhere.
Stefaan Walgrave is professor in political science at the University of Antwerp. His research focuses on two domains: social movements (protest) and political communication. Within political communication, he has mainly worked on political agenda-setting. Drawing on a large agenda-setting project in Belgium he has published in journals including: Journal of Communication, Political Communication, Journalism Studies and Mass Communication Quarterly, and Comparative Political Studies. His study of political agenda-setting is now being extended to seven countries; from 2009 onwards comparative data will be available.