The news media have significant influence on the formation of public opinion. Called the agenda setting role of the media, this influence occurs at three levels. Focusing public attention on a select few issues or other topics at any moment is level one. Emphasizing specific attributes of those issues or topics is level two. The Power of Information Networks: The Third Level of Agenda Setting is the first book to detail the theoretical foundations, methodological approaches, and international empirical evidence for this new perspective.

Lei Guo is an assistant professor in the Emerging Media Studies Division of the College of Communication at Boston University. Guo's research focuses mainly on agenda-setting theory, alternative media, and international communication.

Maxwell McCombs is the Jesse H. Jones Centennial Chair in Communication Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin and has been a visiting professor annually at the University of Navarra in Spain since 1994. Professor McCombs is internationally recognized for his research on the agenda-setting role of mass communication, and the influence of the media on the focus of public attention.

Part 1: A Broader Perspective on Agenda Setting: Theoretical and Methodological Foundations 1. A Theoretical Explication of the Network Agenda Setting Model: Current Status and Future Directions Lei Guo 2. Semantic Network Analysis, Mind Mapping and Visualization: A Methodological Exploration of the Network Agenda Setting Model Lei Guo 3. Mapping the Contours of the Third Level of Agenda Setting: Uniplex, Duplex, and Multiplex Associations Craig E. Carroll Part 2: International Studies of the Network Agenda Setting Model A. Public Affairs & Political Communication 4. Exploring the Network Agenda Setting Model with Big Social Data Chris J. Vargo and Lei Guo 5. An Expanded Perspective on Network Agenda Setting Between Traditional Media and Twitter Political Discussion Groups in "Everyday Political Talk" Sharon Meraz 6. Role of Tech Bloggers in the Flow of Information Nirit Weiss-Blatt 7. From Compelling Arguments to Compelling Associations at the Third Level of Agenda Setting Magdalena Saldaña & Alberto Ardevol-Abreu 8. Journalistic Role Performance and the Networked Media Agenda: A Comparison between the United States and Chile Lea Hellmueller & Claudia Mellado 9. An Issue Attention Cycle Analysis of the Network Agenda Setting Model: A Case Study of the Nuclear Issue in South Korea Jisu Kim & Young Min 10. News Coverage of the Iraq War: An International Comparison of Network Attribute Agendas University of Texas International Journalism Research Coalition B. Strategic Communication & Public Relations 11. Implications of Third-Level Agenda Building for Public Relations and Strategic Communication Spiro Kiousis & Matt Ragas 12. Third Level of Agenda Building and Agenda Setting during a Corporate Crisis Michael Etter & Anne Vestergaard 13. Corporate Agenda Setting at the Third Level: Comparing Networks of Attributes in Corporate Press Releases and Media Coverage Laura Illia, Philemon Bantimaroudis & Katia Meggiorin 14. Attributes of a Cultural/Consumer Product: Oregon Wine Lisa M. Weidman Part 3: Summing up 15. Explorers and Surveyors on the New Agenda-Setting Frontier Lei Guo and Maxwell Mccombs