THE PRESIDENT NEWS MEDIA RELATIONSHIP - A TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS OF AGENDA-SETTING

An examination of the influence of President Bush on the coverage patt erns of the three national networks during his first 80 weeks in offic e suggests that the President may influence coverage of issues on whic h he is an important source (such as international crises) and on whic h he has a pet interest (such as patriotism/flag burning). For issues on which other sources may provide accurate information (such as econo mic issues) the President has much less influence. Finally, on social problems (such as crime and the environment) the President may use the media as a guide to the importance of issues to which he should respo nd.