Agenda-setting theory describes the "ability [of the
news media] to influence the salience of topics on the
public agenda." That is, if a news item is covered frequently and prominently, the audience will regard the issue as more important. Agenda-setting theory was formally developed by Dr. Max McCombs and Dr. Donald Shaw in a study on the
1968 American presidential election. In the 1968 "Chapel Hill study," McCombs and Shaw demonstrated a strong
correlation coefficient (r > .9) between what 100 residents of
Chapel Hill, North Carolina thought was the most important election issue and what the local and national news media reported was the most important issue. By comparing the salience of issues in news content with the public's perceptions of the most important election issue, McCombs and Shaw were able to determine the degree to which the media determines
public opinion. Since the 1968 study, published in a 1972 edition of
Public Opinion Quarterly, more than 400 studies have been published on the agenda-setting function of the
mass media, and the theory continues to be regarded as relevant.