From WeChat to “We set”: exploring the intermedia agenda-setting effects across WeChat public accounts, party newspaper and metropolitan newspapers in China

Abstract

The sudden emergence of WeChat, particularly its public accounts, drastically altered China’s social media landscape and the ways in which ordinary Chinese people obtain information. However, no study has yet explored whether user-generated content in WeChat public accounts has the potential to influence the agendas of China’s traditional state-controlled media. The present study explores the intermedia agenda-setting effects across WeChat public accounts, party newspapers, and metropolitan newspapers in China. The results showed the following: 1) WeChat and the party newspaper’s agendas were not reciprocal at any time; 2) a significant, although ephemeral, unidirectional effect of WeChat on the metropolitan newspapers emerged; 3) both reciprocal and unidirectional effects were observed on the party newspaper and the metropolitan newspapers’ agendas. The findings provided insights into the conditions under which influential agenda setters can be identified.