1. Mass Communication Theories
Lecture 5
Gatekeeping
Vasyl V. Kucherenko

2. Kurt Lewin coined the word ‘gatekeeping’ in 1943.
It’s about blocking unwanted things by using a gate and power of a gatekeeper
From psychology the notion of ‘gatekeeping’ moved to communication.
It is now one of the most Kurt Lewin important theories in media and communication field.

4. Who is a gatekeeper? Someone who controls whether
let information pass further.
Gatekeepers take many forms:
people, organization policies,
computer algorithms etc.
All gatekeepers make decisions, but they have varying degrees of autonomy forces influencing decisions.

5. In media studies, gatekeepers are those who make the
decisions regarding what will appear in the media, as well
as which items are newsworthy (‘opening the gate’)
and which are not
(‘closing the gate’).
News gatherers &
news managers
those who have editorial responsibility for the preparation or transmission of news stories or other information.

6. “Gatekeeping is the process by which the billions of messages that are available in the world get cut down and transformed into the hundreds of messages that reach a given person on a given day”
(Pamela J. Shoemaker)

7. Gatekeeping is a type of control exercised on information as it moves in and out of gates
Elements of gatekeeping:
Messages
Channels
sources, media, audience
Gates
0ccurs at various locations of channel
Gated
experience the results of gatekeeping
Gatekeepers
individuals, groups, organizations etc.
Forces
factors influencing gatekeepers’ decisions
Feedback
including gatewatching

8. The process of gatekeeping
Information moves step by step through channels. The number of channels varies and the amount of time in each channel can vary.
Information must pass a “gate”
to move from one channel
to the next.
Forces influence the process and the channels,
Opposing forces causing conflict,
which creates resistance to
movement through the channel.
Different actors may control the channels and act as gatekeepers at different times.

9. Agenda-setting and gatekeeping…

10. Agenda-setting: strategic, focused on issues, topics, ‘big themes’.
Gatekeeping: tactic, focused on messages.

11. stories are shaped and presented also refers to a gatekeeping process
The way in which
stories are shaped and presented
also refers to a gatekeeping process
a process that encompasses more than just selection, by…
“…including all forms of information control that may arise in decisions about message encoding, such as selection, shaping, display, timing, withholding, or repetition of entire messages or message components”
(Donohue, Tichenor, and Olien’s)

12. Framing and gatekeeping…

13. Process & effects (?)
The processes (agenda-setting, framing) existing inside another process (gatekeeping) (?)

14. Levels of media gatekeeping
Individual –
individuals are responsible; individuals’ interpretations, personality, background, values, and experiences MATTER.
2. Routine Media Practices –
decisions made according to a pre-established and generalized set of media practices (news values, news gathering practices, editing peculiarities etc.)

15. 3. Organizational –
internal factors that vary by existing rules, regulations, norms within a particular organization.
4. Institutional and Societal
- how gatekeeping is influenced by external factors (market forces, political forces etc.);
- impact of ideology and culture, other indicators of social significance.
(e.g., coverage of wars or other conflicts vary from country to country based on cultural values, beliefs and practices of those counties)

16. Internet. Web 2.0. Networked society
Producing and (re)distributing online news.
News aggregation and crowdsourcing as new filters or gates in the Web 2.0 age
news gathering and production are becoming a collective pursuit.
Gatewatching
users who may not report the news first-hand, but pick and evaluate the news and other information provided by official sources, complementing, questioning or contesting it.

17. Gatekeeping as a type of control exercised on information as it moves in and out of gates
Elements of gatekeeping:
Messages
Channels
sources, media, audience
Gates
0ccurs at various locations of channel
Gated
experience the results of gatekeeping
Gatekeepers
individuals, groups, organizations etc.
Forces
factors influencing gatekeepers’ decisions
Feedback
including gatewatching

18. Are gatekeepers still needed?
Reduction of gates and official gatekeepers has led to the decline of professionalism in reporting news and accountability for quality of information (?)
Gatekeepers are necessary in today’s torrent of media information to help news consumers filter through what is useful, credible, reliable, and important (?)
Online gatekeeping is still existing, evolving and modifying (?) If so, in what way?

19. The very essence of media gatekeeping
That’s a joke! Hopefully…

20. Reflections due to Monday, October 31, 11:00pm (23:00)
November 1 – Research and reading week
NO CLASS!
Home readings (self-study) / November 1:
Textbook: Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (2012). Mass communication theory: Foundations, ferment, and future. (Chapter 7)
Textbook: Bryant, J. & Oliver, M.B. (2009) Media Effects: Advances in theory and research (Chapters 6)
Reflections on Social learning theory/Social cognitive theory due to Monday, November 7, 11:00pm (23:00)

21. Home readings for November 8:
Textbook: Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (2012). Mass communication theory: Foundations, ferment, and future. (Chapter 11: pp )
Textbook: Bryant, J. & Oliver, M.B. (2009) Media Effects: Advances in theory and research (Chapters 3, 4)

22. The course schedule has been changed! Some topics were re-arranged:
The new schedule:
November 22 - Spiral of Silence;
November 29 - Uses and Gratifications Theory;
December 6 - Social Identity Theory
Before November 22 and after December 6 the schedule remains the same.