Agenda setting theory in the digital media age: a comprehensive and critical literature review

This thorough literature study looks at how Agenda Setting Theory (AST) has developed in the digital media era over the last two decades (2004-2024). From its beginnings in McCombs and Shaw's work, the study tracks AST's evolution across three levels: issue salience transfer, attribute agenda setting, and the more recent Network Agenda Setting model. It examines how digital media's qualities- fragmentation, interactivity, algorithmic curation, and decentralized gatekeeping- have challenged and altered conventional agenda-setting mechanisms. Based on about 40 studies, the analysis concludes that although agenda-setting impacts remain online, they function in a more complicated, networked manner with a broader spectrum of players affecting public agendas. The article investigates digital platforms' empirical data, the rise of new agenda-setting players outside conventional media, and issues including audience fragmentation and false information. AST is still shown to be relevant, but major adjustments are needed to grasp the several aspects of agenda creation completely in today's mixed media environment.