Honoring the legacy of Max McCombs & Donald Shae at ICA 2025 in Denver

I am still overcome with emotions after last night's celebration of the lives and contributions of Drs. Max McCombs and Donald Shaw at the International Communication Association (ICA) conference in Denver.

The fist part of the program featured a panel titled “A Half Century of Agenda-Setting Research:  Honoring the Lives and Contributions of Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw.”

It was an honor to be a panelist with David Weaver (Indiana University at Bloomington), Lei Guo (Fudan University), Chris Vargo (University of Colorado Boulder), Sharon Meraz (University of Illinois at Chicago), and Brad Hamm (Northwestern University).

This panel served as a tribute to McCombs and Shaw’s extraordinary legacy as both scholars and educators. It celebrated their profound contributions to the field and honor their intellectual impact in carrying forward the pioneering theories for future generations of scholars. The program featureda keynote address from McCombs and Shaw’s close colleague and friend, David Weaver, alongside a panel of agenda-setting scholars who reflected on their shared academic journey and the lasting influence of these two remarkable thinkers. 

I discussed my collaboration with Dr.McCombs around integrating the agenda setting theory with the selective exposure framework via the concept of need for orientation. This work highlights the impact of motivated reasoning and individual media consumption habits on the effectiveness of agenda-setting across different groups, and shows Max’s influence on the subsequent refinement of the conceptualization of mechanisms that drive the effects.

The panel was followed by a reception and a private dinner at Jovanina’s Broken Italian.

What a wonderful reunion with multiple generations of students and mentees who continue to carry on their legacy.

Maxwell McCombs passed away in September 2024 and Donald Shaw passed away in 2021.