Gatekeeping
Billions of events occur in the world each day, but only a few of them become news. The process through which this occurs is referred to as gatekeeping. Gatekeeping theory is the nexus between two inarguable facts: events occur everywhere all of the time and the news media cannot cover all of them. And so, when an event occurs, someone has to decide whether and how to pass the information to another person, such as a friend, an official, or even a journalist. Many decisions are made between the occurrence of an event and its transmission as news: decision points are referred to as gates and decision makers as gatekeepers. The decision-making process is the core of gatekeeping. It is possible for anyone to be a gatekeeper—anyone who has information about the event and decides to pass it to another person or organization. In processing information and conveying it to someone else, gatekeepers consciously or unconsciously change the information. Some is withheld and the rest is not unchanged, as if it were merely squeezed from a gatekeeping sponge. Traditionally, the role of the gatekeeper was seen as that of a journalist or news editor. Today we see that interpersonal chains of social media organizations and their participants, for instance, connect with media chains in an entirely new way—moving information from one to another, overlapping the news media, and integrating into a new journalism in which reporters and officials have less control over the flow of information than they did in the 20th century. Individuals in the former mass audience have substantial influence as gatekeepers.
The term arouse from
Kurt Lewin coins the word called “Gate keeping”. It’s nothing but to block unwanted or useless things by using a gate. Here the person who make a decision is called “Gatekeeper”. At first it is widely used in the field of psychology and later it occupies the field of communication. Now it’s one of the essential theories in communication studies.
The process explains why and how some information are published and some are not. Gate is the choosing criteria which is used to select information to be given in the media or blocking unwanted things. When gatekeeping is done, the view of audience is affected.
Role of gatekeeper
The gatekeeper decides what information should move past them (through the information “gate”) to the group or individuals beyond, and what information should not. Gatekeepers are the at a high level, data decision makers who control information flow to an entire social system. Based on personal preference, professional experience, social influences, or bias they allow certain information to pass through the their audience.
The theory of gatekeeping
The model was designed by Bruce westley and Malcolm MacLean. This model is considered as extension of newcomb's model full stop this model is quite frequently used in mass media. It is based on on the assumption that messages in Mass Communication pass through different check points called gatekeeper before they are actually received by the audience. The gatekeeper concept is essentially a term applied to in mass media and is often associated with the news. Gatekeeping means that the information has to flow along certain channels which contain gatekeepers who will permit the information to flow or stop. The process of decision making depends upon the policies likes and dislikes of the organisation. It decides whether the information will be allowed to enter and continue in the channel. The audience therefore receives the reporters and editors version of the days event and do not necessarily what may be the reality. Thus, interposed between the centre and the audience are the editors weather in print journalism TV or radio who has gatekeepers determine what the public reads listens to or watches full stop therefore the audience exposure to an event reality is in the gatekeepers hand. This model is quite realistic in the modern media scenario particularly the news media. The only drawback being that it applies only on the mass media and fails to take a count of the relationship between the mass media and other assistance through which we fit into to society like family friendships work School Church trade unions and all other formal and informal networks or relationship. Normally one is not as dependent open the media as this model implies. A here is sender who receives messages from many sources X1, X2, X3, X4......... X and according to his perception of event write a report and send it to gatekeeper C who performs the editorial communicating function; that is the process of deciding what and how to communicate. C therefore may emphasize or deemphasize a certain point in the message to strike a balance and then send it to the audience B.
CONCEPT
The Gatekeeper decides what information should move to group or individual and what information should not. Here, the gatekeeper are the decision makers who letting the whole social system. The gatekeeper is having its own influence like social, cultural, ethical and political. Based on personal or social influences they let the information to the group. Through this process the unwanted, sensible and controversial information’s are removed by the gate keeper which helps to control the society or a group and letting them in a right path. In home mother plays the vital role and she has to decide what their kid’s needs and what should avoid. Gatekeepers establish a hierarchy of information which people need to look at as important and the perceived to be a need. They have a great responsibility to provide unbiased, true information. Lewin used “unfreeze – change – refreeze” approach for gatekeeping which suggests that information must be edited after unfreezing it, changed what is says and then refreezed. The refreezed version is then available to audiences. Criteria of selecting depends on the issues that affect many people, controversial topics, and issues that can be the most popular.
Factors of Gatekeeping
The factors that influence gatekeeping are:
Individual:
Journalist who creates the report is the person who is the most influential to make the news article. Other gatekeepers just change some aspects of the news but the reporter states truth.
Routine:
The themes shown in the news and other media is always in a pattern. Media also have schedules to follow and have allocated time for each category.
Organization:
Media organizations have their own views, agendas and propaganda. They also have to follow certain rules and ethics. The news or other media products has some elements of the media house’s opinions and views.
Extra-Media:
Many media related people and institutions have a say in what is published like sponsors, advertisers, government, etc.
Ideology:
The societal ideologies must be followed by media as it influences what is reported. The norms and values of people must be respected by media. Similarly, ethical issues must also be taken care of.
New technologies have let journalists to expand the number of audiences and increased the rate of interactions with them(audience). Gatekeeping process has changed with it too as anyone can publish anything. Though there are still issues of credibility.
Features of Gatekeeping Theory
• It is a process of selection and filtering of items for media and editing it as per the requirements like limited time or space.
• The function of gatekeeping is surveillance.
• Gatekeeping sets the standard for newsworthiness.
• Editor who works as a gatekeeper changes news as the person has his/her own subjective perceptions.
• Media plays a role of a watchdog.
• There are many factors for gatekeeping like the organizational policies.
• The theory is descriptive with normative traits.
• Information moves in a step by step process in a structure.
• It is also used as a social control for media influence.
-Shruti Nag
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