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Gone Yesterday, Here Today: Consumer Issues in the Agenda‐Setting Process
Author(s) -
Mayer Robert N.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1991.tb01809.x
Subject(s) - yesterday , public opinion , government (linguistics) , mass media , process (computing) , public policy , public relations , political science , business , advertising , politics , law , computer science , philosophy , physics , astronomy , operating system , linguistics
How do consumer problems become transformed into consumer issues? One view is that consumer problems go through three stages. First, they are publicized by the mass media, then they arouse public opinion, and only then are they addressed by public policymakers. A second, less unidirectional view holds that the process is sometimes reversed, with issues originating from policymakers. This article attempts to specify the media, public, and policy agendas so that the two views can be assessed. Evidence from the period of 1960–1987 supports the view that consumer issues began on the policy agenda but then followed the unidirectional pattern of media to public opinion to government.