Lanosga presents agenda setting research
Associate professor Gerry Lanosga presented his paper, “Media Agenda Building Through the Freedom of Information Act,” Thursday at the 50 Years in Agenda Setting Research: Past and Future Perspectives Conference.
Lanosga’s paper analyzes how interest groups make use of the Freedom of Information Act to place their issues on national news agendas. In coverage by The New York Times, CNN, Politico and NPR, fewer than one-fifth of news stories mentioning FOIA involved public records requests by the news organizations themselves. More than half of the stories were based on results of FOIA requests by organizations such as the Sierra Club, the ACLU and Judicial Watch.
In revealing a persistent and effective agenda-setting influence by these interest groups, the study complicates notions of FOIA as a tool of journalistic independence and enterprise.
The conference, which took place July 18-21 at the University of Colorado-Boulder, marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of agenda setting research. Distinguished professor emeritus David Weaver, one of three scholars credited as the seminal agenda setting theorists, presided over the conference as a guest of honor.
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