The article presents a formation and development of agenda-setting theory, which explains the media effects on audiences simply as: the more media reportabout certain issues, the more important these issues are. And vice versa, the less an issue is present in the media, the less an individual perceives it as an important. Author questions such relationship by taking a different approach to measuring the "frequency of media issues" - i.e. using the method of content analysis. She focuses on the question, which issues regarding joining the EU were in the forefront of newspapers and how often they were offered argumentatively. Additionaly, on the basis of a telephone survey it is shown which problems about the EU were found most important to respondents and how their perceptions were related to the media agenda. Based on the results, the present case rejects the hypothesis of direct causal mediaeffect on the audience.
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