The Stability of Cable and Broadcast News Intermedia Agenda Setting Across the COVID-19 Issue Attention Cycle

ABSTRACTABSTRACTIn today's fragmented media environment, it is unclear whether the correspondence between media agendas that characterizes intermedia agenda setting persists. Through a combination of manual and computerized content analysis of 486,068 paragraphs of COVID−19 coverage across 4,589 cable and broadcast news transcripts, we analyze second and third-level attribute agenda setting, both in terms of central themes and aspects. Through the lens of the issue attention cycle, we assess whether relationships among media agendas change over time. The results show that even in a fragmented media environment, there is considerable evidence of intermedia agenda setting. The attribute agendas were largely similar across outlets despite the similarity slightly decreasing over time. The findings suggest that there was only modest evidence for the prominent perception of fragmented coverage for cable and broadcast news networks' attribute agendas concerning the COVID−19 pandemic.KEYWORDS: intermedia agenda settingissue attention cycleCOVID-19cable and broadcast news AcknowledgmentsThis work is supported through the funding provided by Mark Gibson, CEO, Capital Markets, JLL Americas to the Center for Media Engagement at the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the National Science Foundation (Grant IIS-2045432).Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Supplementary MaterialSupplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher's website at https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2023.2222382.Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation National Science Foundation [2045432]; Funding provided by Mark Gibson, CEO, Capital Markets, JLL AmericasNotes on contributorsCeren BudakCeren Budak is an Associate Professor at the School of Information, an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and a Faculty Associate at the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan.Natalie Jomini StroudNatalie Jomini Stroud holds the E. M. "Ted" Dealey Professorship in the Business of Journalism, is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies and the School of Journalism and Media, and is the founding and current director of the Center for Media Engagement in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin.Ashley MuddimanAshley Muddiman (PhD, University of Texas at Austin) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas and a faculty research associate with the Center for Media Engagement housed in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. She researches political media and its effects, specifically focusing on topics such as incivility, misinformation, and political journalism.Caroline C. MurrayCaroline Murray is a graduate student and Senior Research Associate at the Center for Media Engagement in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on how digital spaces impact the news media and engagement across political divides.