What's the subject of "raising" ?

Question

"But agenda setting has since been dismissed as "at best a hackneyed half-truth" on the grounds that it downplays the existence of multiple agendas by media organizations and voters alike. McQuail notes that the direction of flow in the agenda-setting model could be reversed, raising the possibility that, rather than setting the agenda, the media merely reflect the attitudes of voters. For him, agenda setting remains an unproven idea."

Q1. Is "by media organizations and voters alike" related to "agenda setting has since been dismissed" or "the existence of multiple agendas"?

(I'm asking whether the structure of the sentence is "agenda setting has since been dismissed by media organizations and voters alike " or "the existence of multiple agendas by media organizations and voters alike.")

Q2. What's the subject of "raising" ? "McQuail" or "the direction of flow in the agenda-setting model" or something else?

(*'Agenda-setting' describes the "ability (of the news media) to influence the importance placed on the topics of the public agenda)

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

thanks3Q1. Is "by media organizations and voters alike" related to "agenda setting has since been dismissed" or "the existence of multiple agendas"?

Well may you ask. The writer is not being as clear as we would hope. Neither interpretation works grammatically, but on first reading, my impression was that he meant that both media organizations and voters have more than one agenda.

thanks3Q2. What's the subject of "raising" ? "McQuail" or "the direction of flow in the agenda-setting model" or something else?

I would say that the choice is between "McQuail" as the subject of "raising" and "that the direction could be reversed" as the antecedent of the "which raises" that the writer imagined was there. I think he meant the latter.

CalifJim · Answer

thanks3Q1. Is "by media organizations and voters alike" related to "agenda setting has since been dismissed" or "the existence of multiple agendas"?

It's related to 'the existence of multiple agendas'. However, something is wrong with the sentence. The preposition 'by' is not appropriate.

thanks3Q2. What's the subject of "raising" ? "McQuail" or "the direction of flow in the agenda-setting model" or something else?

I read the subject as the implied "reversal".

could be reversed, raising the possibility that
~
could be reversed, and this reversal raises the possibility that

It's another somewhat strange construction.

CJ

What's the subject of "raising" ?

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