A focal point of recent mass communication research has been the influence on public accessibility to political information, the "agenda setting" function of the media. This function was tested during the Kentucky gubernatorial election and the Lexington, Kentucky, mayoral election in November 1971. The specific hypothesis postulated that public identification of important issues in the campaigns would reflect the amount of media coverage devoted to these issues and that this effect would be strongest for those people with the least education and least interest in the campaign. Respondents selected at random from the Lexington telephone directory were asked what they believed were the major issues of the campaigns. Resulting data supplied as much evidence that the media reflect public concern as that the public is influenced by media coverage. Correlations between educational levels or campaign interest and media coverage of issues could not be established. (CH)