Testing Generational, Life Cycle, and Period Effects of Age on Agenda Setting

This study explores the relationship between age and the media's agenda-setting effects both by cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. Using American National Election Studies surveys and the New York Times Index data from 1960 to 2004, we test three possible effects of age on the agenda-setting process: generational, life-cycle, and period effects. Findings show the public agenda is fairly stable across generations and age cohorts despite increasing signs of media diversification and audience specialization. More important, different generations' agendas were overall correlated with the media agenda in each year, indicating robust agenda-setting effects of the media on the public, except for baby boomers. The findings generally support the hypothesis of period effects. Implications of the findings are discussed.