Gatekeeping Theory

Gatekeeping is one of the mediaa (TM)s central roles in public life: People rely on mediators to transform information about billions of events into a manageable number of media messages. This process determines not only which information is selected, but also what the content and nature of messages, such as news, will be. Gatekeeping Theory describes the powerful process through which events are covered by the mass media, explaining how and why certain information either passes through gates or is closed off from media attention. This book is essential for understanding how even single, seemingly trivial gatekeeping decisions can come together to shape an audiencea (TM)s view of the world, and illustrates what is at stake in the process.

Gatekeeping is one of the media’s central roles in public life: people rely on mediators to transform information about billions of events into a manageable number of media messages. This process determines not only which information is selected, but also what the content and nature of messages, such as news, will be. Gatekeeping Theory describes the powerful process through which events are covered by the mass media, explaining how and why certain information either passes through gates or is closed off from media attention. This book is essential for understanding how even single, seemingly trivial gatekeeping decisions can come together to shape an audience’s view of the world, and illustrates what is at stake in the process.

Introduction: The Significance of Gatekeeping. Part I: Understanding Gatekeeping 1. Understanding the Concept 2. The Gatekeeping Process Part II: Gatekeeping--Levels of Analysis 3. The Individual Level of Analysis 4. The Communication Routines Level of Analysis 5. The Organizational Level of Analysis 6. The Social Institution Level of Analysis 7. The Social System Level of Analysis Part III: Theorizing about Gatekeeping 8. Field Theory and Gatekeeping 9. Gatekeeping Channels 10. Gatekeeping in the 21st Century

Pamela J. Shoemaker is John Ben Snow Professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She is author of News Around the World (with Akiba Cohen), How to Build Social Science Theories (with James Tankard and Dominic Lasorsa), and Mediating the Message (with Stephen Reese). Tim P. Vosis Assistant Professor of Journalism Studies at the University of Missouri.