mass communication - definitional

GATEKEEPER: a person in charge of a gate, usually to identify, count, supervise, etc., the

traffic or flow through it. (dictionary.com)

GATEKEEPER: guardian; monitor (dictionary.com)

GATEKEEPER: someone who guards an entrance (dictionary.com)

GATEKEEPER: a person who, by selecting, changing, and/or rejecting messages, can influence

the flow of information to a receiver or group of receivers. (Tubbs and Moss)

GATEKEEPING: the process through which ideas and information are filtered for

publication. (wikipedia.com).

In mass communication, gatekeeping is an essential aspect, which exists in all types of

mass media. It is important that the publications made by different mass medias get passed

through a chain of people. It is important for information to be approved by more than one person,

which is why gatekeeping exists. A common gatekeeping flow would start with the editor-in-chief,

pass to the senior editor, onto a freelance writer, back to the senior editor, next to an assistant

editor, back to the writer again, onto an art director, then to the managing editor, and finally back

to the editor-in-chief. This complicated process is necessary for finding errors and producing an

accurate product. All of these gatekeepers mentioned have different choices to make, which are influenced by

seven different variables. These variables are economics, legal restrictions, deadlines, ethics,

competition among media, news value, and reaction to feedback.

The term gatekeeping was coined by Kurt Lewin. He used this term to describe a wife or

mother as the person who decides what food ends up on the table for dinner. It later evolved into

the communication context in the 1950's when White applied it to journalism (similar to above). 

According to the University of Twente's website, "In the 1970s McCombs and Shaw took a different direction when they looked at the effects of gatekeepers' decisions. They found the audience learns how much importance to attach to a news item from the emphasis the media place on it. McCombs and Shaw pointed out that the gatekeeping concept is related to the newer concept, agenda-setting. (McCombs et al, 1976). The gatekeeper concept is now 50 years old and has slipped into the language of many disciplines, including gatekeeping in organizations."