Selection and Treatment Criteria for Trending Topics on Social Media Platforms in Egyptian Television Programs

The study investigates the phenomenon of trending topics which go viral on social networking sites and how this clearly influences the agenda of communicators in Egyptian televised programs. The study uses the qualitative method, by conducting 25 in-depth interviews with communicators from Egyptian media institutions, including presenters, editors-in-chief, digital content creators and marketing experts, and social media editors. Using the inter-media agenda setting theory as a guide, the study also employed unstructured observation by keeping track of numerous trending topics that appeared on social media and were covered by TV shows. The findings showed a significant influence of the social media agenda on Egyptian TV programming, particularly with the growing "trend" phenomena. This effect is controlled by several determinants, such as the channel editorial policy, type of content, presenter personality, and program format.TV shows may occasionally enforce their agenda and start trends on social media, although the second has the biggest impact. In dealing with trends, several TV shows' media strategies have come under fire, including when they purposefully make controversial statements or spend a lot of time addressing trending topics. The communicators emphasized the significance of picking the right viewpoint while addressing the trend to bring value to the topic.