This study examines the extent to which major news websities influence issue agendas and attribute agendas of their competitors. This empirical effort tests the applicability of first- and second-level intermedia agenda-setting effects to the coverage of major news websities. This study is important because the applicability shows the extension of intermedia agenda-setting to online news media. Furthermore, because the applicability is based on the South Korean news websities, it verifies the generalizability of intermedia agenda-setting to other countries beyond the American media. Specifically, South Korean major online newspapers affect the way the country's online wire service covers issues and attributes. Attribute agendas converge between major online newspapers.

This study makes three contributions to the existing intermedia agenda-setting research. First, it clearly shows that second-level intermedia agenda-setting effects do occur among major news websities competing in the online news market. The present study should reiterate that the significant presence of second-level intermedia agenda-setting effects is meaningful, though its coefficients are relatively smaller than the coefficients for first-level intermedia agenda-setting effects. Prior research did not find this evidence among major news websities. Chosun.com influences attribute agendas on Joins.com, and Donga.com also affects the agendas on Joins.com. The present study mentions that journalists constantly monitor its competitors (Donsbach, [11]) and seek valid agreement with other journalists for their news choices (Sigal, [40]). However, this monitoring is not a sufficient condition for the occurrence of the intermedia agenda-setting effects. Competition in the online news market and journalists' strategic responses to competitors' coverage would be major factors. A major news Web site tries to beat its competitors by breaking a story first and making its content better than its competitors. The success increases traffic at the news Web site. Therefore, journalists at news websities are unlikely to simply follow the coverage initiated by their competitors. The journalists may ignore the coverage by arguing that it is not newsworthy. Or, the same journalists may concur with the newsworthiness of the coverage and seek new angles by launching in-depth coverage. This second response provides a context where one news Web site influences attribute agendas covered by another news Web site.

For instance, Chosun.com and Donga.com pay attention to former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun's brother's scandal and post a series of stories concerning the topic because it is a newsworthy event. Joins.com accepts this news judgment while monitoring its competitors' stories. But Joins.com is likely to go beyond simply covering the same attribute. To make its content more unique and better than its competitors, the Web site will post stories containing attributes on different locations of its main posting areas, compared to its competitors. This response of Joins.com is initiated by attribute coverage by Chosun.com and Donga.com.

One caution is that the present study does not examine where stories are published on a main posting area of a news Web site. The same story is likely to be positioned on different spots on the main posting area of a news Web site. The conclusive picture of intermedia agenda-setting effects among news websities needs to include frequency of stories and placement of stories.

Second, partial correlations consider spurious relationships among variables of interest. As a result, the partial correlations reveal that Chosun.com and Donga.com influence issue agendas of the online wire service and that Chosun.com affects attribute agendas of the online wire service. This finding of one-way influence of online newspapers on an online wire service rejects prior research's (Lim, [27]) finding of reciprocal influence between an online wire service and a major online newspaper. In the print news market, wire services exert significant influence on other news media's news-making process, independently of different news gathering and production (Hirsch, [18]; Todd, [50]; Whitney & Becker, 1982). But the influence of wire services is not confirmed in the present study. The reason could be derived from the size of news holes. Over the two constructed weeks, on average, Donga.com has the largest number of stories (73), followed by Joins.com (65 stories), Chosun.com (59 stories), and online Yonhap News Agency (44 stories). Because stories during two randomly constructed weeks represent a one-year pool of stories, the size estimates the news holes of the four news websities on any other days in a given year. Donga.com and Chosun.com devote more stories to their posting areas than the online wire service. This large production capability may gain the attention of the online wire service so that it monitors the two news websities' story postings. This could make the online wire service susceptible to coverage patterns of attributes by the two websities. Interviews with editors of the online wire service would provide insightful information about this speculation.

Third, the partial correlations further reveal that in terms of issue agendas, reciprocal influences measured by correlations among Joins.com, Chosun.com, and Donga.com disappear. The influence of Joins.com on attribute agendas of Chosun.com, the influence of Chosun.com on attribute agendas of Donga.com, and the influence of online Yonhap News Agency on the attribute agendas of Chosun.com also disappear when measured by partial correlations. This indicates that influential relationships among major news websities are not straightforward. This statement reflects the reality that online journalists face when covering news events. Given no predetermined deadlines, online journalists seek story ideas by monitoring their competitors and checking sources such as public relations agencies, government officials, or other organizations. The goal of these activities is to make their news Web site attractive to their potential users and to beat their competitors. Furthermore, the specific news-making process in each news Web site could vary according to its publishing policy (e.g. conservative versus liberal) and its target audiences (local, regional, or national users). These different news production contexts could prefer some issue categories or some attribute categories in stories over other issue or attribute categories. The results would diminish any influence of a major news Web site on issue agendas and attribute agendas of another major news Web site. If placements of stories carrying issues and attributes are further considered, their negative impact on causal influence could be substantial. Further studies need to test this idea.

Because this study analyzes content, it cannot make arguments beyond the content (Riffe, Lacy, & Fico, [36]). For example, the present study cannot answer how major news websities decide to post stories with the same issues and the same attributes on similar areas. To answer the question, researchers need to use field observations or an extensive survey with online editors. Furthermore, when online journalists follow competitors' coverage or influence the coverage, the journalists could experience a certain type of emotion such as positive or negative emotion. This possibility generates interesting knowledge about the online news-making process.

Another important consideration includes the nature of media for intermedia agenda setting. The media could have different editorial positions, political views, or even ideological standpoints. These variables serve as meaningful contingent conditions that enhance or weaken intermedia agenda-setting effects. In the present study, the three online newspapers and the online wire service take conservative standings, and, thus, the question of how liberal news websities respond to the conservative media's coverage remains unanswered. Television news websities and online-only news websities could demonstrate responses different from the conservative online newspapers and lead the coverage of the conservative media. For instance, 'OhmyNews' and 'PRESSian' are South Korean online-only news websities, and their political orientations are liberal (Song, [43]). The two news websities initiate the coverage of the deaths of Korean middle-school students by a US military vehicle so that Korean conservative newspapers join the coverage (Song, [43]).

To apply the present study's findings to broad settings, two sets of two constructed weeks need consideration because the two sets are more efficient in detecting any causal influences (Hester & Dougall, [17]). Researchers also need to use a cross-cultural comparison between different countries (e.g. the American news websities versus foreign news websities) to further analyze any cultural differences in the online news-making process.

In sum, major on line newspapers influence what issues and what attributes an online wire service covers. This indicates that the agenda-setting function of major newspapers for wire services extends into the online news environment. Major online newspapers are agenda-setters for online wire services. Major online newspapers also affect what attributes their competitors cover. Therefore, the intermedia agenda-setting effects among online news media occur at the first level (issues) and second level (attributes).

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