Media Representation of Volunteerism and the Nonprofit Sector in Rural Japan: The ‘Issue-Attention Cycle’ and the Potential for Agenda-Setting

抄録

This paper follows on previous work focusing on the media representation of volunteerism by examining the local newspaper representation of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector-related articles and columns over a period from 2002 to 2006. The research notes the historical development of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector and contrasting opinions regarding the influence of media on public consciousness of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector, particularly in the case of Japanese media. Use of the ‘Issue-Attention Cycle’ allows for identification and analysis of two trends in the representation of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector in the newspaper media: one an increase-decrease trend, the other a transition from reports on activities to content that is more informational and motivational. As these two trends occur in association with representation that is either in the form of newspaper articles or in the form of newspaper columns, the research concludes that the potential for agenda-setting through newspaper representation of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector can be found in newspaper columns.