FRAMING AND THE PUBLIC AGENDA - MEDIA EFFECTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FEDERAL-BUDGET DEFICIT

What explains the shift in public opinion over time on the issue of th e 1996 U.S, federal budget? Public opinion polls demonstrate dramatic shifts in the percentage of people considering the budget issue to be the most important problem facing the country from November 1994 throu gh April 1996. In this article, we model Roper Center opinion polls ag ainst a prediction of opinion from media content to investigate how me dia coverage affects the importance assigned to the budget issue. We i dentify four dominant frames present in media coverage of the budget i ssue and argue that a model combining the theories of agenda setting a nd framing provides a better explanation for the shifts in aggregate o pinion than either theory on its own. By combining framing with the tr aditional agenda-setting approach, we take into account the nuances of coverage within the issue, in addition to the sheer amount of coverag e, for a more complete explanation of media effects on public opinion on the issue of the federal budget.