How Environmental Activists Built a Media Agenda and Its Attributes: The Saemangeum Project in South Korea

Abstract

This study examines the press release as the beginning point of agenda‐building in the largest environmental conflict in the Republic of Korea: the Saemangeum project. The effects of the first and second - level agenda building were investigated through a content analysis of press releases and newspapers. The results showed that the number of press releases issued by environmental groups was positively associated with the amount of news coverage regarding the issue. Regarding the effects of the event, all newspapers, encompassing the liberal, neutral, and conservative, reported more stories about Saemangeum when the environmental groups planned and practiced various demonstrations. The results also revealed that the more demonstrations mentioned in the press releases, the more favorable the news coverage was found in the newspapers. In sum, this study found that a positive relationship existed between press releases and media coverage at the early triggering stage of agenda-building.