Abstract
This study examined the agenda-building process, in which interpretive frames activated and spread from the top level through the news media to the public, in the context of Obama’s controversial health care reform. The authors examined the relationship among media coverage, presidential rhetoric and public opinion from President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009 to the date the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” was signed into law in 2010. Results indicate the media were modestly successful at building the media agenda. However, results also showed that presidential rhetoric might have influenced public opinion. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Highlights
With growing unease over the trillions of dollars being spent on bailouts and economic stimulus on top of an already unprecedented level of debt, President Obama signed into law a historic health care overhaul that according to him “won’t pull the plug on grandma.” In March 2010, the President signed The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
Guided by agenda-building research, the current research focuses on the health care debate by examining the relationship among media coverage, presidential rhetoric, and public opinion starting with President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009 to the date the PPACA was signed into law in March 2010
While two previous studies have employed the agenda-building framework to examine how presidential rhetoric and elite sourcing may contribute to the news media and publics’ perception toward controversial topics such as stem cell research (Fahmy, Relly, & Wanta, 2010) and war (Fahmy, Wanta, Johnson, & Zhang, 2011), this is one of the first studies to apply a comprehensive approach of agenda-building in the context of Obama’s health care reform (Lambert & Wu, 2011; Wu & Lambert, 2010)
Summary
With growing unease over the trillions of dollars being spent on bailouts and economic stimulus on top of an already unprecedented level of debt, President Obama signed into law a historic health care overhaul that according to him “won’t pull the plug on grandma.” In March 2010, the President signed The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Controversies over the Obama’s health care reform emerged in public discourse . As the President pitched to sell the country on the need to reform health care, coverage of the debate became widespread. While numerous studies have examined who sets the media agenda (Gandy, 1982; Wanta, Stephenson, Turk, & McCombs, 1989) less attention has been paid to investigating the influence of important news sources on health care reform. Guided by agenda-building research, the current research focuses on the health care debate by examining the relationship among media coverage, presidential rhetoric, and public opinion starting with President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009 to the date the PPACA was signed into law in March 2010. One month before Election Day, he chose to give a speech in Virginia focusing on health care reform.. Government officials discussed what should be included in the health care plan, and whether the federal government had the power to require that each citizen purchase health care
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