“Gatekeepers highlight particular stories, promote trends, sort the journalistic wheat from the chaff, and, some would argue, restrict the flow of information” (Harper 2003).
A gatekeeper decides which stories to run on various new sites and papers. They do so by reviewing articles, checking facts and according to Harper review against the following criteria, publishing stores that:
o Are considered big, breaking news of large magnitude or increased magnitude
o Report on an unexpected event
o Reflect the values of the gatekeeper and the audience
o Continue on from a previously reported story
o Culturally and geographically relate to the audience.
(Harper 2003)
Therefore a gatekeepers role in an online environment could be said to ensure the stories fit both the brand of the new site and its target audience in order to encourage repeat viewership.
According Harper the choices gatekeepers make can determine the topics people think about which is referred to as “agenda setting”. Although Harper spoke about this in terms of old media, I believe examples can still be seen in online news media sites.
The West Australian website puts (slightly anti – labor) political stories front and centre on the homepage despite its “most viewed” list being choc full of human interest stories (The West Australian 2011). This enables viewers to browse the political headlines before going to the search box to find something that better suites their interests. In contrast – sites like the Huffington Post rely on viewers to “like” and comment on the stories published on their site which are displayed according to popularity. This gives the feeling that the viewer then becomes the gatekeeper but the fine print shows that comments and are moderated by Huffington post staff (FAQ: Comments & Moderation 2011) who could be said to be the real gatekeepers of this online news community.
FAQ: Comments & Moderation. 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/p/frequently-asked-question.html#moderation (accessed 7/11/11).
Harper, C. 2003. Journalism in a Digital Age. Democracy and new media: 271-280. lms.curtin.edu.au/@@59FE5910C5E0F0C6A9542F9A2E4F0BF9/courses/1/312160-Vice-Chancello-935083018/db/_2975043_1/embedded/Christopher%20Harper.pdf (accessed 7/11/11).
The West Australian. 2011. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/ (accessed 7/11/11).
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