Local Media, Public Opinion, and State Legislative Policies

Abstract

This study aims to explore first-level agenda setting at the state level. In particular, it examines the relationships among media coverage of local newspapers, state-level public opinion, and state legislative policies. In addition, it tests two state-level intervening factors: state legislative professionalism and state political culture. This study includes a geographic scope of eighteen U.S. states and a time period of twenty-two years from 1984 to 2006. The media agenda is represented by the news coverage of a state’s most popular newspaper. The public agenda employs a survey question asking, “What is the most important issue facing the state?” The policy agenda is defined by the number of bills that are introduced in the state house. This study finds a moderate and positive relationship between the newspaper agenda and the public agenda in five U.S. states from 1984 to 1997, a strong positive relationship between the newspaper agenda and the policy agenda in fifteen U.S. states from 1989 to 2006, and a weak positive relationship between the public agenda and the policy agenda in South Carolina in 1989 and 1990. State political culture moderates the degree of agenda-setting effects between the newspaper coverage and the legislative policies.

Cancer beliefs and prevention policies: comparing Canadian decision-maker and general population views

“…In interviews with 36 top Australian public health practitioners (including experts in alcohol, obesity, and tobacco control), Chapman et al [24] explained how participants viewed the reach of media as surpassing any academic forum for research dissemination and policy influence. Tan and Weaver [25] corroborate that finding quantitatively, reporting a significant, strong, and positive correlation between newspaper coverage and the introduction of bills in the legislature of 14 observed American states between 1989 and 2006.…”

“…Across studies, the general population has increased support for public health interventions that have become established over time, that are less intrusive, and that are targeted at children and businesses as opposed to individuals [41]. At the same time, research shows that if strong public support for a policy is substantiated, policy influencers feel more comfortable supporting policy action [25]. Awareness of policy acceptability disconnects between policy influencers and the general public is invaluable for advocates looking to act on issues and to maximize policy windows, as it is known that public support plays a key role in ensuring the acceptability and sustainability of a policy [73].…”

“…This creates an opportunity for advocates to strengthen policy influencer awareness of the policy areas that are of high(er) priority and acceptability to the public. When approaching changes to legislation, government policy-makers often consider strong public opinion in favor of the proposed change an essential component to policy development [25,26]. The views of credible stakeholders (such as the media, schools, and workplaces) also play a key role [53], increasing the value of examining the priorities and opinions of individuals, families, and communities.…”

“…Moreover, beliefs as ideological constructs inform social group orientation and thus engender the positive or negative attitudes that drive political commitment [33]. Policy influencers are also influenced by the knowledge and beliefs of the general public [25,26,36]. Public support focuses attention on an issue and generates momentum to move preventionfocused policies forward [37].…”

Reaching “An Audience That You Would Never Dream of Speaking To”: Influential Public Health Researchers' Views on the Role of News Media in Influencing Policy and Public Understanding

“…While there is a long--standing debate in media and political scholarship about whether news has strong or weak effects on a wide variety of outcomes (Bryant & Zillman, 2008) there is abundant evidence that news media can strongly influence public perception about the salience of issues (McCombs, 2004), the severity of public health threats (Young, Norman, & Humphreys, 2008), and affect community health behaviors (Abroms & Maibach, 2008;Chapman, 2007;Noar, 2006;Wallack & Dorfman, 1996). The media also influence political discourse and action, with discernible impacts on policy (Abroms & Maibach, 2008;Brewer & McCombs, 1996;Tan & Weaver, 2009). Alan Otten, for 44 years a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, observed that news reports can produce "public outrage (or policy maker outrage) that forces new regulations and laws or tougher enforcement of existing ones.…”