Emergence of News Waves: A Social Simulation Approach

The study investigates fundamental mechanisms generating issue-attention cycles in news coverage with a social simulation approach. An agent-based computer model is developed, which integrates the main drivers of news waves as identified by empirical research. By simulating the model many times under varying conditions, the interaction of the factors to generate the typical issue-attention cycle can be observed. Results suggest that the momentum of news waves is mainly driven by the adaptive reporting behavior of journalists. Sponsors actively supporting issues by initiating events are not necessary to generate issue-attention cycles, but change their typical dynamics. Comparing simulated time series to two empirical cases yields that the model produces more realistic patterns of media attention when issue sponsors are introduced.