This article examines the news media's role in federal criminal justice policy-making. Specifically, we examine how news coverage of cele brated events affected the gun control policy-agenda over a twenty-five year period by linking the presentation of gun issues in the New York Times to corresponding changes in the number of congressional hearings on gun control. Moreover, we examine the implementation of two pieces of federal gun legislation as case studies to more clearly identify the role of the media in federal criminal justice policy-making. Our results indi cate that the media affect the federal policy process in three ways: first, the media can open a window of opportunity to consider policy change; second, the media can promote a limited range of policy alternatives; and third, the media can promote the interests of policy entrepreneurs.
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