Media Coverage on Immigration Debate

Agenda-Setting: How Media Coverage of the 2006 Debate Over Immigration Reform Shaped U.S. Public Attitudes Toward Immigration

Marisa Abrajano
Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

Wednesday, January 23, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Eleanor Roosevelt College Administration Building
Conference Room 115, First Floor
Reception to follow

While the importance of agenda setting has been well-documented (Baumgartner and Jones 1995, Iyengar 1991), it is unclear whether its affect holds for issues that may not be salient to  significant portion of the public. We explore this puzzle by examining the issue of illegal immigration, as it is one policy that traditionally impacts those living in states along the U.S.-Mexico border more so than for those residing in non-border states.  Our analyses of newspaper coverage of immigration and Gallup public opinion data over a twelve-month period (January-December 2006) provide considerable support for the agenda-setting theory. The volume of news coverage did increase following the protests and as such, the public perceived immigration as an important problem facing the country. These findings hold for individuals residing in both border and non-border states, suggesting that the power of agenda-setting holds across issues that may not be nationally salient to the entire American public.

Marisa Abrajano joined the UCSD Political Science Department in Fall 2006. Her research focuses on campaigns and elections, political behavior, Latino politics, and race and politics in the United States.

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These seminars are open to all members of the UCSD community, as well as faculty and students from other universities and the general public. For further information, please contact Ana Minvielle (E-mail: aminvielle@ucsd.edu, Tel#: 858-822-4447).

Center for Comparative Immigration Studies
9500 Gilman Drive
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093-0548

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