The Mouse Who Ruled His Kingdom: An Agenda Setting

287 Pages·2012·4.53 MB·English

by  Jacob Overbey

Running head: THE MOUSE WHO RULED HIS KINGDOM 1

The Mouse Who Ruled His Kingdom:

An Agenda Setting Analysis of The Walt Disney World Company
Eli Overbey
Thesis
October 15, 2012
THE MOUSE WHO RULED HIS KINGDOM: TWITTER ANALYSIS 2
Thesis Committee

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Angela Widgeon, Ph.D., Chair Date

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Stuart Schwartz, Ph.D., Date

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Carey Martin, Ph.D., Date
THE MOUSE WHO RULED HIS KINGDOM: TWITTER ANALYSIS 3

Copyright © 2012

Jacob Eli Overbey

All Rights Reserved
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Table of Contents
Chapter I: Introduction……………………………………………………………………..11
Chapter II: Literature Review……………………………………………………………....18
Pre-Agenda Setting………………………………………………………………18
First Level Agenda Setting………………………………………………………23
Second Level Agenda Setting……………………………………………………31
Need for Orientation……………………………………………………………..36
Priming…………………………………………………………………………...40
Intermedia Agenda Setting………………………………………………………41
Social Media and Change……………..…………………………………………47
Decline of Traditional Media……………………………...……………………..51
Agenda Settings within Corporations……………………………………………53
News Changing Forms…………………………………………………………...54
History of Twitter………………………………………………………………..57
Twitter as a News Source….…………………………………………………….60
Twitter as a Valid Source………………………………………………………...63
Disney’s Agenda…………………………………………………………………65
A Brief History of the Walt Disney World………………………………………69
Disney’s Agenda on Twitter……………………………………………………..71
Research Questions………………………………………………………………73
Chapter III: Methodology……………………………………………………...……………..75
Qualitative Content Analysis…………………………………...……………..…75
Limitations to Qualitative Content Analysis…………………………………......77
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Advantages to Qualitative Content Analysis.………………………………...….78
Sample Selection…………………………………………………………………79
Collection Period..……………………………………………………………….82
Strengths and Weaknesses of Qualitative Method…………………………….…83
Data Collection Factors………………………………………………………......84
Validity and Reliability…………………………………...……………………...84
Privacy Issues…………………………………...………………………………..85
Summary…………………………………...…………………………………….86
Chapter IV: Results……………..……………………………………………...……………..88
Data Collection for @WaltDisneyWorld………………………………………...88
Data for Public Opinion……………………………………………………….....95
Chapter V: Discussion………………………………………………………...……………114
Research Question 1….………………………………………………………...114
Research Question 2….………………………………………………………...119
Research Question 3……………………………………………………………124
Further Advancement of the Theory…..………………………………………..132
The Sixth Phase of Agenda Setting – Social Media Agenda Setting….……….133
Limitations and Future Research…………………………………………...…..136
Practical Application…………...…………………………………………...…..140
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..142
References...…………………………………………………………………………………….144
Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………..161
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Dedication

Soli Deo Gloria
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Acknowledgements

First, I would like to thank my wife. Bekah, without your support and patience, I would
not have finished this project, and my editing would not have been near as good. You are a joy,
and I love you. To the rest of my family, I love you. Kati, I loved getting to take classes with you
and finishing the program alongside you – I hope that you are blessed in Nashville. Andrew,
your work ethic has always inspired me, and I respect and love you. Mom and dad, you’re the
best, and I love you.
Secondly, I would like to thank my friend, my Chair, and someone who has also been
there for me, Dr. Angela Widgeon. Dr. Widgeon, I have had the privilege of knowing you the
past four years, and you have pushed me to be a better student, a better scholar, and a faithful
man of God. Without you, I can honestly say I would not be writing this thesis. It has been a
wonderful few years; I have loved getting to know Sir Dave also. Thank you for all you have
done.
Thirdly, I’d like to thank my professors and other committee members, Dr. Martin and
Dr. Schwartz. Dr. Martin, you are brilliant in the field of media, and I have thoroughly enjoyed
learning from you. Your knowledge is extremely inspiring. And to Dr. Schwartz, thanks for
being real, for teaching me common sense, and how to respond to life’s challenges.
To my grad school friends, love you guys. Matt, Briana, and Chelsea, you were the best
friends a person could have. Best of luck as you finish your theses and then go impact the world
with your skills.
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Abstract

People are seeking their news in more social environments, but very little research has
been conducted on agenda setting and online environments. This thesis examined the agenda
setting relationship between an organization on Twitter, @WaltDisneyWorld (i.e., The Walt
Disney World) and public opinion on Twitter. The relationship was examined using Twitter’s
database of tweets to measure public opinion on Twitter. Since the news media is losing steam
on the ability to break news, and social media is growing rapidly, this study tested the value of
the agenda setting theory on social media. To this end, this thesis qualitatively examined the
ability of an organization to set an agenda on social media. This thesis argued that social media,
specifically Twitter, has the power to set an agenda because of its rapid growth and rapid
response rate.
This study tested several research questions that examined the presence of agenda setting
on social media. Two content analysis were conducted – one of The Walt Disney World’s
Twitter and one of the public’s opinion using search terms (#WDW, WaltDisneyWorld,
#WaltDisneyWorld, and Walt Disney World) to identify tweets that were about the Walt Disney
World.
This study showed it was possible to transfer salience on Twitter – the basic essence and
effect of the agenda setting theory. This study ultimately revealed that through the power of
retweeting, anyone could set an agenda on Twitter. Based on the findings, this thesis proposes a
new sixth phase of agenda setting, social media agenda setting.
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List of Figures
Figure 4-1. Chart of Inductive Themes………………………………………………………......94

Figure 4-2. Number of Tweets Collected from the Public Daily……………….……………….96
Figure 4-3. Progression of High Relationship Intensity……….……………….………………104
Figure 4-4. Inductive Thematic Code Elements for the Public Twitter………...………………113
Figure 4-5. Flow of Agenda…..……………….…………………………………..……………126
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List of Tables
Table 4.1 Inductive Thematic Code – Company History………………………………………..90
Table 4.2 Inductive Thematic Code – Event….………………………………………………....91
Table 4.3 Inductive Thematic Code – Fantasy…………………………………………………..92
Table 4.4 Inductive Thematic Code – Celebrity…………………………………………………93
Table 4.5 Inductive Thematic Code – Company Promotion………………………………….....94
Table 4.6 Number of Tweets from the Public……………………………………………………95
Table 4.7 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Disney Advocates…………………………....100
Table 4.8 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Disney Memories…………………………....102
Table 4.9 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Disney Fantasy.…………………………….. 103
Table 4.10 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Disney Characters………………………….103
Table 4.11 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Negative Disposition……………………….106
Table 4.12 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Factual Information………………………...107
Table 4.13 Inductive Thematic Code – Events……………………………………………..…..108
Table 4.14 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Political……………………………………..109
Table 4.15 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Company Promotion……………………….110
Table 4.16 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Organization ………………………….……111
Table 4.17 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Celebrity Endorsements…………………....112
Table 4.18 Inductive Thematic Code Elements – Company History……………………….….113
Table 4.19 Themes in Tweets……………………………………………………………….….119

Table 4.20 Public Opinion on Twitter………………………………………………….………124