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Guns, Hollywood, and School Safety: Defining the School‐Shooting Problem Across Public Arenas

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  • Regina G. Lawrence
  • Thomas A. Birkland

Abstract

Objective. Research in agenda setting has demonstrated that dramatic news events can drive particular issues to the top of the media and governmental agendas. The objective of this study is to analyze how different aspects of an event‐driven problem compete for attention in those arenas. Methods. The method is content analysis of media coverage and congressional legislative activity following the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. Results. The results show that while both agendas converged on the gun‐control aspect of the problem, they substantially diverged on other understandings of what kind of problem the Columbine shooting represented and how to address it. Conclusions. We conclude that the differing institutional structure and incentives of the news media and Congress can create or inhibit interinstitutional positive feedback in the problem‐defining process. Agenda divergences are amplified when prominent politicians cue the media to follow particular story lines that depart from actual legislative activity.

Suggested Citation

  • Regina G. Lawrence & Thomas A. Birkland, 2004. "Guns, Hollywood, and School Safety: Defining the School‐Shooting Problem Across Public Arenas," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1193-1207, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:85:y:2004:i:5:p:1193-1207
    DOI: 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2004.00271.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Anandasivam Gopal & Brad N Greenwood, 2017. "Traders, guns, and money: The effects of mass shootings on stock prices of firearm manufacturers in the U.S," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-29, May.
    2. Hamlin, Daniel, 2021. "Are gun ownership rates and regulations associated with firearm incidents in American schools? A forty-year analysis (1980–2019)," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Chip E. Miller & Andrew Bryant, 2022. "Evaluation of the association between the flow of firearms and mass shooting deaths," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 925-937, June.
    4. Lauren Guggenheim & S. Mo Jang & Soo Young Bae & W. Russell Neuman, 2015. "The Dynamics of Issue Frame Competition in Traditional and Social Media," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 659(1), pages 207-224, May.

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