Intermedia agenda setting

Intermedia Agenda Setting 

The process of different media outlets influencing each other in determining the importance of news stories or issues 

  1. Story emergence: media outlets identify the potential news sources that can provide content worthy of reporting 

  • Initial reporting: once a source is deemed credible, media outlets proceed to start gathering information, verifying it 

    • Initial reporting by a prominent media outlet can significantly introduce trajectory of the news story 

  • News values: criteria used to determine worthiness of news for publication 

    • Timeliness 

    • Significance 

    • Proximity 

    • Conflict 

  • Source credibility: reliability of a source 

  • Resource availability: ex. Having journalists available to research and write, financial resources to send reporters to the scene 

  1. Observation and Monitoring 

  • Media scanning: identify emerging stories, gauge importance 

  • Trend analysis: examining which topics are gaining traction on social media and search engines

  • Competition among media outlets: drives outlets to scout for news that differentiates their coverage 

  1. Initial Adoption and Replication 

  • Editorial decision making: when editors evaluate whether a story aligns with interests and needs of their audience 

  • Content adaptation: when content is adapted to fit the outlet’s format

    • Editing language, tone, presentation to align with the theme of an outlet 

  1. Cross Media Feedback 

  • Public reaction monitoring: observing and analyzing how the audience reacts to news stories across various platforms 

  • Influencing factors: user engagement metrics, peer media activity 

  1. Amplification and Escalation 

  • Follow-up reporting: deeper exploration of the original story 

    • Interviews, expert opinions, related developments 

    • Factors that cause: interest from public, ethical considerations to provide comprehensive and accurate coverage 

  • Cross-platform syndication: promoting story across various platforms to reach broader audience 

    • Factors that cause: media alliances, technological capability, marketing objective s

  1. Convergence on narratives 

  • Narrative solidification: when different outlets start coalescing around a common frame or narrative. 

  • Selective emphasis: outlets emphasize certain parts of a story to align with audience interests 

  • Standardization of language: using similar terms/language across various media outlets 

  • Simplification: complex stories simplified 

  • Echo chamber formation: repetition and reinforcement of solidified narrative 

  1. Saturation and decline

  • Content exhaustion: all angles of a story have been thoroughly reported on 

  • Shift in focus: outlet transition resources to new story that promises higher audience engagement