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Who Influences Whom? The President, Congress, and the Media

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  • Edwards, George C.
  • Wood, B. Dan

Abstract

Influencing the policy agenda has long been viewed as one of the most important sources of political power. For decades, scholars have maintained that the president has the most significant role in setting the policymaking agenda in Washington, but little systematic empirical work has been done to measure the president's influence. We explore the president's success in focusing the issue attention of Congress and the mass media by evaluating time-series measures of presidential, mass media, and congressional attention to five issues: crime, education, health care, U.S.–Soviet relations, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. We find that most of the time the president reacts, responding primarily to fluctuations in media attention and world events. In domestic policy, we find a more interactive relationship, one that appears to offer the president the opportunity to act in an entrepreneurial fashion to focus the attention of others in the system on major presidential initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Edwards, George C. & Wood, B. Dan, 1999. "Who Influences Whom? The President, Congress, and the Media," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 93(2), pages 327-344, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:93:y:1999:i:02:p:327-344_21
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    Cited by:

    1. Hill, Joshua & Oliver, Willard M. & Marion, Nancy E., 2010. ""Shaping history" or "Riding the wave"?: President Bush's influence on the public opinion of terrorism, homeland security, & crime," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 896-902, September.
    2. Ian Ostrander & Joel Sievert, 2020. "Presidential Communication During the Legislative Process," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(3), pages 1165-1182, May.
    3. Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha & Christine Balarezo, 2014. "The President on Spanish-Language Television News[Q. A6 (Fra]," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 95(2), pages 448-467, June.
    4. Jeff Yates & Andrew B. Whitford, 2009. "Race in the War on Drugs: The Social Consequences of Presidential Rhetoric," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(4), pages 874-898, December.
    5. Matthew Gentzkow & Nathan Petek & Jesse M. Shapiro & Michael Sinkinson, 2015. "Do Newspapers Serve The State? Incumbent Party Influence On The Us Press, 1869–1928," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 29-61, February.
    6. James Meernik & Michael Ault, 2013. "The tactics of foreign policy agenda-setting: Issue choice and the president’s weekly radio address," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 16(1), pages 74-88, March.
    7. B. Dan Wood, 2009. "Presidential Saber Rattling and the Economy," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(3), pages 695-709, July.
    8. Buckler, Kevin G. & Travis, Lawrence F., 2003. "Reanalyzing the prevalence and social context of collateral consequence statutes," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 435-453.
    9. Riaño Rodríguez, Juan Felipe, 2014. "More than Words and Good Intentions: The Political Agenda-Setting Power Behind Foreign Aid Mechanisms," MPRA Paper 54826, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Matthew Eshbaugh‐Soha, 2010. "How Policy Conditions the Impact of Presidential Speeches on Legislative Success," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 91(2), pages 415-435, June.
    11. Jennifer Lees-Marshment, 2016. "Deliberative Political Leaders: The Role of Policy Input in Political Leadership," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(2), pages 25-35.
    12. Joseph E. Uscinski, 2009. "When Does the Public's Issue Agenda Affect the Media's Issue Agenda (and Vice‐Versa)? Developing a Framework for Media‐Public Influence," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(4), pages 796-815, December.
    13. Fabrizio Carmignani & Grace Lordan & KK Tang, 2010. "Does aid for HIV respond to media pressure?," Discussion Papers Series 414, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.

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