ABSTRACT
The idea of the second dimension of agenda setting is that “beyond the agenda of objects there is also another dimension to consider. Each of these objects has numerous attributes, those characteristics and properties that fill out the picture of each object. Just as objects vary in salience, so do the attributes of each object” (McCombs, 1995, p. 6). Thus McCombs argued, “How news frames impact the public agenda is the emerging second dimension of agenda setting” (p. 6). But through what process does transmission of attributes occur? We suggest that the second level of agenda setting can be understood best as a process of reality construction by individuals who combine elements of news with what they personally observe of life and events to make a sort of blended reality.
