Televised Debate and Press Agenda: Testing the Agenda-Building Effects in the Case of 2014 Taipei Mayor Election

Abstract

The study attempts to test the agenda-building effects of the televised debate in the case of Taipei Mayor Election in 2014. The results indicate the existence of agenda-building effects of the candidates’ speech in the televised debate: The performance of independent candidate Ko had successfully affect the press agenda, while the KMT candidate Lien had failed to make the issues of policies he stressed salient, only issues of personalities emphasized by the press. It is also found that these effects are not always consistent with media’s blue/green partisan orientation, which implies a potential shift of public opinion in Taiwan society.