Scything the grass: Agenda-setting consequences of appointing public inquiries in the UK. A longitudinal analysis

The media salience trends of 40 events in the UK between 1984 and 2003 were examined to determine the validity of allegations regarding the agenda-setting effect of appointing public inquiries. Results show that, contrary to the 'long grass' argument, the attenuation in media salience following the appointment of a public inquiry is not different from that of non-inquired events.The findings are analysed and an alternative explanation is suggested for the prevalence of the 'long grass' argument.