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The Role of the Alternative Press in the Agenda-Building Process: Spill-over Effects and Media Opinion Leadership

This article examines the agenda-building process in relation to three `counter-issues' in West Germany, focusing on often neglected processes within the media system, the role of the alternative press and the role of media opinion leaders. Our results show that the success of counter-issues at gaining coverage in the alternative press leads to a `spill-over effect': the issue spills like a wave from the alternative into the established media. Some liberal papers support this breakthrough. They function as media opinion leaders and initiate chain reactions within the media system. The spill-over effect is not limited to the topic itself. The established liberal media also adopt its frame of reference for presenting the issues from the alternative press. A typical issue `career', consisting of a latent and preparatory phase, an upswing phase, a climax and a downswing phase, will not occur when the issue is displaced by another more important problem. The dynamic agenda-building process is characterized by various interactions between the media, public and policy agenda.