Abstract

We reexamine agenda setting by analyzing the salience of gun control within diverse U.S. audience groups. Utilizing data spanning from 2015 to 2022, we investigate the impact of traditional media, partisan media coverage, discourse on Twitter (now X), real-world gun-related events, and Google Trends search behavior on the perceived importance of gun control. Our findings indicate that while traditional media and Twitter discourse do not significantly sway the salience of gun control, partisan media coverage and specific information-seeking search behaviors do. Notably, media opposing an audience's political ideology and searches for gun- related information are influential. The effect of real-world shooting events on issue salience is complex, with shootings influencing liberals, but which conservatives showing an initial decrease in perceived importance for conservatives. Our approach explains issue salience for all ideological groups quite well and offers the most comprehensive understanding of the interplay between personal experiences, search behaviors, and a polarized media environment in shaping public salience on gun control to date.

Keywords

gun control; agendamelding; agenda setting; gun violence; need for orientation

How to Cite

Vargo, C. J., & Minooie, M. (2025). Breaking Agenda Setting Boundaries: A Multi-Dimensional Approach to Understanding Salience of Gun Control in the Polarized Public Sphere. Mass Communication & Society, 28(3), 530–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2024.2333972

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Version and Rights

This is the author preprint. For the final published version, see the DOI above.