The Economy and Second-Level Agenda Setting: A Time-Series Analysis of Economic News and Public Opinion about the Economy

Abstract

Data from a content analysis of forty-eight months of print and broadcast news about the economy were combined in time-series analyses with two indicators of consumer economic evaluations and three measures of real economic conditions to investigate second-level agenda-setting effects. Economic news was framed as negative more often than as positive, and negatively framed news coverage was one of several significant predictors of consumer expectations about the future of the economy. The study supports the argument that media coverage, particularly the media's emphasis on negative news, may have serious consequences for both expectations of and performance of the economy.