Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Internet and Journalism: An Introduction
- 2 The History and Evolution of the Internet
- 3 Multimediality, Interactivity and Hypertextuality
- 4 Annotative Reporting and Open-source Journalism
- 5 Computer Assisted Journalism or Reporting
- 6 Preparing Online Packages
- 7 Web Authoring and Publishing
- 8 Revenue, Ethics and Law
- 9 Gatekeeping: The Changing Roles of Online Journalism
- 10 Digital Determinism: Access and Barrier
- 11 Convergence and Broadband
- 12 The Network Paradigm
- Glossary
- Index
9 - Gatekeeping: The Changing Roles of Online Journalism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 October 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Internet and Journalism: An Introduction
- 2 The History and Evolution of the Internet
- 3 Multimediality, Interactivity and Hypertextuality
- 4 Annotative Reporting and Open-source Journalism
- 5 Computer Assisted Journalism or Reporting
- 6 Preparing Online Packages
- 7 Web Authoring and Publishing
- 8 Revenue, Ethics and Law
- 9 Gatekeeping: The Changing Roles of Online Journalism
- 10 Digital Determinism: Access and Barrier
- 11 Convergence and Broadband
- 12 The Network Paradigm
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
The previous chapters gave an account of the new forms of journalism that are coming into being due to the appearance of the internet and the web, along with related methods and practices. But the practitioner, to be effective, also needs to understand how these developments change the role of journalism as society's principal mode of storytelling and of the journalist as one who tells his audience what to think of itself and the rest of the world. The aim of this chapter is to address this question.
Singer suggests four approaches to this issue – gatekeeping, diffusion of innovation, sociology of news work and an eclectic framework for studying journalism as a cohesive force in a fragmented society. Because of its focus, the last one can be viewed as belonging to the functionalist paradigm. We will deal with the first, and its extension, agenda-setting.
The Journalist as a Gatekeeper
Gatekeeping theory appeared in communication studies almost six decides ago. The term was first introduced by social psychologist Kurt Lewin in his study of people's food habits. Lewin pointed out that decisions on what should reach the family table and what should not were made in certain areas of the food channel extending from the market or kitchen garden to the table. He termed these areas ‘gates’. Lewin noted that the same was true for the movement of news items through communication channels.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Online JournalismA Basic Text, pp. 181 - 196Publisher: Foundation BooksPrint publication year: 2006