Research Topic

In my advertising elective class this week we have been doing some reading on the issue attention cycle. The readings really struck a chord with me as it seems that every day the latest issue gets brought to our attention and then quickly fades from public consciousness. I'd like to see how I can implement the issue attention cycle into my research topic. I'd like to focus on researching how twitter accounts may play a role in this cycle. There have been studies about the amount of content newspapers produce while an issue is "hot," and even comparative studies between countries over long term issues such as global warming. I'd like to perform a study that focuses more on audience reaction to news and measure the amount of activity on twitter and attempt to identify if the audience follows the cycle to the degree that publishers follow the cycle in their coverage of an event. Does the audience dwell on an issue before mass media seems to move on from it? Is there a segment of the audience that attempts to make sure the issue stays in our minds. If so who are these public opinion leaders? Are they journalists, bloggers, or normal citizens? If the coverage is positive will social media coverage be positive as well? Basically, I'd like to compare the attention cycle of the news coverage of the event vs the attention cycle of twitter users. The event I would like to focus on is Ray Rice and domestic violence. I definitely need help narrowing this down and clearing it up. It still needs a bit of work.