TV Debates of the 2020 Seimas Elections: Strategic Uses of Issue Attention and Framing

Abstract

It was analysed national televised debates of the 2020 Lithuanian parliamentary elections to study how politicians use strategies of issue attention control and framing in order to be able to present their preferred ideas and positions in spite of the strict agenda control imposed by the TV moderators. Results of the analysis show that certain topics (Environment, Agriculture) despite the possible strategies to bring them on the agenda were rarely discussed during the debates as they were not presented by the moderators. This finding suggests that media agenda power is substantial and has important implications for inclusiveness of political discussions.