What is the biggest social problem in the news today? Who makes issues newsworthy and important? Why do some issues receive more attention than others? Social issues that are widely recognized in the media's agenda often demand attention on the public agenda and in turn, slide up the policy agenda, creating policy changes. James W. Dearing and Everett M. Rogers's research on social issues that hit the top of the media agenda--the war on drugs, drunk driving, the Exxon Valdez, AIDS, and the Ethiopian famine--provides important theoretical and practical insight into the agenda-setting process and its role in effecting social change. This reader-friendly volume introduces students to an important area of communication research and offers them direction for further inquiry. Researchers and professionals in political and mass communication, media studies, research methods, and marketing will appreciate this volume's insightful approach to agenda-setting and policy. "Agenda-Setting is a very useful introduction to the topic as well as a through review of the stream of research. . . . This book introduces a number of ideas that are useful in public relations strategic planning such as the concept of an issue life cycle. A lag/lead analysis of issue development is discussed that would also prove useful to campaign planners. The concept of framing is introduced as a technique that brings meaning to an issue." --Public Relations Review "Authors James W. Dearing and Everett M. Rogers explain the importance of the agenda-setting hypothesis in mass communication research and suggest how research can be advanced in the future. . . . In the book's most impressive character, the authors raise 12 research issues to advance agenda-setting, including the need for more international, comparative approaches. A very complete list of references and a separate list of suggested readings are helpful to scholars. Highly recommended for all serious collections in journalism, mass media, mass communication, political science, and public policy research." R. A. Logan in Choice