Effects of Personal, Interpersonal and Media Experiences on Issue Saliences

Abstract

Three sources of issue salience are examined simultaneously through a survey in Austin, Texas. Three hypotheses are tested: 1. Media experience will enhance conformity to the news media's agenda; 2. Interpersonal experience will inhibit conformity to the news media's agenda; and 3. Personal experience with an issue will inhibit conformity to the news media's agenda. The study concludes that the strongest predictor of media conformity is media exposure and attention. Personal experience, however, while also a significant predictor, produced a positive effect on media conformity, suggesting that personal experience sensitizes individuals to important issues. Individuals then seek out additional information on these obtrusive issues from the news media and in turn become more susceptible to agenda-setting effects. Interpersonal communication, while producing a negative coefficent, was not a significant predictor of media conformity.