Agenda Uptakes in Local Media Ecologies: The Case of Campus Sexual Misconduct

Over the past decade, scholars have used social media data to further agenda-setting research by explaining how issue importance is transferred between major media actors and the public. In this study, I discuss intermedia agenda-setting and the theory of agenda-uptake in the context of local media environments. I hope to better understand how local media actors and the public interact with one another regarding chronic issues faced by local communities. I also extensively discuss common issues with the contemporary body of intermedia agenda-setting research and how researchers have discussed social media as a medium and as a proxy for public discussion. In this comparative study of five cities each hosting a major American university, I collect student-run and local newspaper articles related to campus sexual misconduct, a matter of local importance, as well as Tweets related to the topic. Using time series analyses, I observed significant multi-directional relationships, especially in “college towns” compared to larger metropoles. I conclude by discussing future directions for the study of agenda-setting in local media environments.