Open AccessThe Rise of Twitter in the Political Campaign: Searching for Intermedia Agenda‐Setting Effects in the Presidential Primary
Author(s) -
Conway Bethany A.,
Kenski Kate,
Wang Di
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of computer‐mediated communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.15
H-Index - 119
ISSN - 1083-6101
DOI - 10.1111/jcc4.12124
Subject(s) - newspaper , presidential system , politics , political science , democracy , social media , public relations , media studies , advertising , sociology , business , law
Questions exist over the extent to which social media content may bypass, follow, or attract the attention of traditional media. This study sheds light on such dynamics by examining intermedia agenda‐setting effects among the Twitter feeds of the 2012 presidential primary candidates, Twitter feeds of the Republican and Democratic parties, and articles published in the nation's top newspapers. Daily issue frequencies within media were analyzed using time series analysis. A symbiotic relationship was found between agendas in Twitter posts and traditional news, with varying levels of intensity and differential time lags by issue. While traditional media follow candidates on certain topics, on others they are able to predict the political agenda on Twitter.