Events that matter: specific incidents, media coverage and agenda-setting in a Ghanaian context

Traditional agenda-setting research has convincingly demonstrated that the media's agenda influences the public's agenda in a somewhat linear fashion. Following from that, agenda-setting researchers are now investigating the attributes of culturally specific agendas. Their studies provide insight into what appears to be a complex process that may be affected by factors beyond those already documented. This paper similarly examines the intricate connections between media, specific events, and agenda-setting in Ghana. In this context it considers two specific events with significant sociocultural implications - events that were framed by the media to produce agenda-setting effects. The paper argues that the media's framing of those events provided their audience with certain ready-made patterns of cognition, thereby enhancing the possibility of agenda-setting.