[Air-L] CfP on “Revisiting Agenda-Setting Theory in the Age of AI”

[Lei Guo]

Dear colleagues,

This is a call for papers for a special issue of *Communication and Change
<https://link.springer.com/journal/44382> *on “Revisiting Agenda-Setting
Theory in the Age of AI”

This special issue is edited by *Lei Guo*, Professor of Communication at
Fudan University and Associate Editor of *Communication and Change*,
alongside *Chris Vargo* (guest editor), Associate Professor of Advertising,
Public Relations, and Media Design at the University of Colorado Boulder
and Editor-in-Chief of *The Agenda Setting Journal*. *David Weaver*,
Distinguished and Roy W. Howard Professor Emeritus of Journalism at Indiana
University Bloomington serves as an advisor of the special issue.

*Theme: *

Developed more than five decades ago (McCombs & Shaw, 1972), agenda-setting
theory has long served as a cornerstone of journalism and communication
research, illuminating the processes through which news media influence
public opinion around the world. As we enter the age of artificial
intelligence (AI), the dynamics of agenda setting are undergoing profound
transformations. AI technologies—from algorithmic news curation to
generative AI creating personalized content—are redefining how media
agendas are constructed, disseminated, and ultimately influence the public.
These new AI-driven influences urge us to reconsider the foundations of
agenda-setting theory and its relevance in the evolving information
environment. Simultaneously, AI offers researchers an innovative set of
research tools to explore agenda-setting effects in new and impactful ways.

We invite original research articles and conceptual papers that examine the
role of AI in the context of agenda-setting theory. We seek contributions
from diverse cultural backgrounds and welcome cross-disciplinary research
in particular. Although the issue considers a wide range of perspectives,
it is focused on research rooted in the theoretical framework of “agenda
setting” (McCombs & Shaw, 1972), its extensions such as agenda building,
intermedia agenda setting, and agendamelding, its re-conceptualizations, as
well as its interactions with other theoretical frameworks.

We encourage submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following
topics:

   1. *Content Curation and Algorithmic Agenda Setting*: Examining the role
   of algorithms within agenda setting in digital spaces, focused on how
   algorithms prioritize certain news items, shape user opinions and
   engagement, and potentially perpetuate biases.
   2. *Emerging Agenda Setters*: Exploring the rise of AI-driven entities –
   such as AI anchors and conservational agents – as new agenda-setters, their
   interactions with legacy media, and their impact on public discourse.
   3. *Information Manipulation and Agenda Setting: *Investigating how AI
   technologies, such as social bots and deepfakes, are used to manipulate
   information to steer the agenda-setting process.
   4. *Corporate Influence on Media Agendas*: Exploring how corporate
   interests, including those of billionaires, major stakeholders, and
   multinational corporations, shape media narratives, with a focus on how
   AI technologies, driven by these corporate agendas, influence news
   prioritization and public perceptions.
   5. *Theoretical Advances of Agenda Setting: *


   - Further explication of key developments in agenda-setting theory,
      including agendamelding, network agenda setting, agenda building,
      psychology of agenda setting, and their implications for communication
      research in an AI-driven media landscape.
      - Re-conceptualizations of agenda setting in the age of AI.
      - The interplay between agenda setting and other foundational
      communication theories and concepts (e.g., framing, gatekeeping, priming,
      and selective exposure), their intersections, and collective implications
      in contemporary media environments.

6. *Methodological Innovations: *Exploring cutting-edge advancements in
computational techniques, with a focus on leveraging AI – including large
language models – to refine and enhance the study of agenda-setting
dynamics.


*About the Journal: *

*Communication and Change <https://link.springer.com/journal/44382> *(C&C)
is a peer-reviewed, open-access international journal dedicated to
advancing the understanding of communication in the context of rapid
technological and societal transformation. With emerging technologies such
as AI and big data reshaping communication practices, social structures,
and media landscapes, *Communication and Change* seeks to foster innovative
research and theory-building that explores the dynamic interplay
between communication and change.

C&C is published by Springer and is institutionally based at the School of
Journalism, Fudan University. Professor James E. Katz at Boston University
and Professor Baohua Zhou at Fudan are the journal’s co-Editors-in-Chief.

*Submission Process: *

Authors are invited to submit extended abstracts (approximately 1,500
words, excluding references) outlining the manuscript’s objectives and
relevance to the special issue. The abstract should clearly demonstrate how
the paper engages with the core theoretical framework of agenda setting.
For empirical studies, please include a description of the research design.

Please submit the abstract and author information to *cac at fudan.edu.cn*
<cac at fudan.edu.cn> by *June 30, 2025*. Notifications regarding invitations
for full papers or rejections will be promptly communicated. Full papers
should be submitted through the journal’s online submission system by *October
1, 2025*.

For any inquiries about the special issue, please contact the editor, Lei
Guo, at *guo_lei at fudan.edu.cn* <guo_lei at fudan.edu.cn>.