Philippine News Media’s Reportage of an Election Campaign: A Test of the Intermedia Agenda-Setting Theory

The Intermedia Agenda-Setting Theory is a media effects framework that remains underexplored in the context of social media during election campaigns in the Global South. This study tests this theory on ABS-CBN and GMA, two leading Philippine news agencies, during the 2016 presidential elections. A total of 2,947 Facebook posts were content analyzed to assess the salience of issues, candidates, and their attributes, as well as the intermedia agenda-setting influence between the two networks. The findings reveal law and order, elections, and social problems as the most prominent issues. There was also a significant focus on Rodrigo Duterte, who dominated media coverage of both agencies. His sensational behavior and provocative remarks allowed him to hijack the media agenda, overshadowing other candidates and critical national issues. Candidate attributes were also mostly on his personality and image, often with negative framing. Time series analysis revealed that ABS-CBN influenced GMA on election issues, while GMA influenced ABS-CBN on the issues of foreign affairs, business, and public safety. Reciprocity was observed for the issues of law and order, social, crime, and on the coverage of Duterte. These findings emphasize the media’s powerful role in shaping electoral discourse and highlight the risks of prioritizing sensationalism over substantive reporting amid a highly polarized political landscape fueled by rampant disinformation.