The Agenda-Setting hypothesis of mass media effects posits a direct, causal link between the issues and personalities emphasized in the communication media and public salience of those issues and personalities. While this broad statement has been useful for making general assertions to the effect that the media "tell us what to think about," it remains a general statement which must be further delineated (McCombs, 1977).A number of Agenda-Setting researchers have ignored the attempts at theory building in this area, choosing instead to test their own conceptual and operational parameters (c.f. Kaid, Hale and Williams, 1977;Sohn, 1978). However, some attempts have been made to refine the seemingly monolithic Agenda-Setting concept. Audience attributes such as the amount of media exposure, interpersonal discussion, and need for orientation have been examined (Weaver and McCombs, 1978; Weaver, 1977;Winter 1981a).Less attention has been paid to stimulus attributes such as the nature of the issue and the medium. With respect to the former, in fact, issues have almost consistently been treated in the aggregate (Atwood, Sohn
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