Relationship Analysis among Media, Public Opinion and the Presidential Statements during George Bush's War on Drugs

Abstract

This study tested a path model of agenda building examining the relationship among the media, the public and the presidential statements on the issue of drug abuse during the Bush administration's War on Drugs. The results showed that a dynamic and interactive relationship among aforementioned actors. First, the real-world conditions strongly increased both media coverage and presidential statements. Second, the news media and president influenced each other. Third, public concern, however, did not function as a significant factor in agenda-building process in this study. The result of this study indicates that Bush was not utterly a reactive or proactive president in terms of his relationship with the media. That is, news media and the president interacted regarding the drug issues; the relationship between President Bush and the media for drug issues was reciprocal.