1972年,McCombs與Shaw為「議題設定」一詞開啟了迄今三十餘年(1972-2005)的研究途徑。本研究以議題設定中的「跨媒體議題設定」(intermedia agenda setting)為分析對象,就其發展與意義作一耙梳,透過整合次領域研究的觀點,試圖為「跨媒體議題設定」的可能變項做一勾勒與思考,本研究歸納指出: 一、「跨媒體議題設定」屬於McCombs與Shaw(1972)所提出的議題設定第四發展階段,主要關注層面在於「誰設定了媒體議題」,亦即早期被視為自變項的「媒體」,在此階段被視為依變項,其可區分成三項構成要素:其一,消息來源分析;其二,事件與議題之區隔;其三,媒體屬性為何。 二、跨媒體議題設定強調的固然是媒體層面的議題影響,但McCombs與Shaw(1993)亦指出八○年代後,研究者主要關注市場中的媒體議題之來源為何?故本研究結合McManus (1994)所提出的「市場導向新聞學」(Market-driven journalism),藉以闡釋媒體所處的市場環境,並加入新聞框架概念所引伸的議題屬性。 三、「議題設定」一詞並非McCombs與Shaw所獨創,也非兩人所獨有,只因三十餘年來的文獻積累與既定論述,使得「議題設定」成為McCombs與Shaw的代稱,其中,「跨媒體議題設定」以媒體議題為主,放置於當代新聞資訊充斥的此刻,顯然有整合其他領域以使其更完備的必要。
Examination of the agenda-setting function of the mass media has taken a series of evolutionary routes the initial efforts of McCombs & Shaw(1972), routes that can be divided into four broad phases of development. The fourth and currently evolving phase of agenda-setting research looks inward and focuses on the question, ”Who sets the media's agenda?” The focus in this study is intermedia agenda-setting. Commonly defined in terms of the influence that the news agendas of different news organizations have one each other. The article examines intermedia agenda-setting by linking a number of social science, communication, and journalism subfields. This study showed that intermedia agenda-setting has three components: sources, distinction of issue and agenda, and media characters. Besides, this research linked journalism subfields, counted Market-driven journalism since it was formulated by McManus (1994), and Chyi & McCombs (2004) use time and space on the process of framing.