With the advent of the Internet era, the status of transmission and reception has changed, and
the “powerful influence” of the media on the public has been questioned. At the same time, more and
more studies show that the cognitive structure of human beings is close to the network structure rather
than the arrangement of linear forms, which challenges the traditional research on agenda setting.
Based on this, scholars such as Guo Lei and McCombs draw lessons from the theoretical framework
of network analysis, and put forward the third level of agenda setting: network agenda setting theory
(or NAS theory). The comprehensive framework provided makes it possible to analyze the integration
of objects and attributes. During the Covid-19 epidemic, the only “Current Affairs News Review Live
Program” “News 1+1” on CCTV News Channel continuously launched a live news review program
with the theme of “Today’s Epidemic Concern”, bringing timely professional information on fighting
the epidemic to the audience, striving to eliminate the uncertainty of the audience, giving full play to
the advantages of the platform and guiding public opinion. This paper takes “News 1+1” as the research
object, selects 97 programs from January 15 to May 19, 2020 (before the “two sessions”) as samples,
uses NetDraw software to sort out relevant data, and explores how to choose topics for “News 1+1”
programs under the theoretical framework of network agenda setting, and then influences audience
cognition through network agenda setting. On this basis, from the dimensions of rigid and single frame
design, excessive repetition of communication content and limited means of measuring communication
effect, this paper makes a realistic reflection on the setting of the program network agenda, in order to
provide reference for the future development of the program and to deal with unexpected events.