Abstract:
The problem. The purpose of this study is to
determine whether the professional agendas of local television managers are influenced by a medium; in this case, "Broadcasting" magazine.
Procedure. First, the agenda of "Broadcasting" was
determined by a content analysis of fifty-two issues (one year's run) of the magazine. Then, the agenda of the television managers was determined by sending a survey based on the content of "Broadcasting" to managers across the country and comparing their responses to the content analysis of the magazine.
Findings. It was determined that the managers of
commercial stations had an agenda very similar to that of "Broadcasting", while the managers of noncommercial stations did not.
Conclusions. Since it is unlikely that the commercial managers all arrived at a similar agenda by accident, the indications are that the commercial managers' agenda is set to some degree by the magazine. This does not hold true for the managers of noncommercial stations.
Recommendations. Since this study was unique in that it utilized the concept of agenda-setting outside of the political arena, there is a need for more research to verify these conclusions.
