EOTO 2 Reax (Post #11)

 

    After seeing everyone's great presentations, I decided to react to Gatekeeping made by Maddie. Gatekeeping is the process of selecting and then filtering items of media that can be controlled and consumed. Gatekeepers themselves are able to control what passes through the "gate" to reach audiences. This can be influenced by personal bias, personal experiences, or organizational policies. News editors like to sift through global stories and choose what aligns with their channels ethics or audience expectations. 

    The first person to make sense of this theory was Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) who was a German born psychologist and pioneer in social psychology who first revolutionized how we understand human behavior today.   He was able to coin the phrase "gatekeeping" as a term describing the process of filtering information in order to block harmful content. Once originally a psychology concept, became a cornerstone of communication studies as media grew. 

Gatekeeping also sets standards for information value, as we can determine what's "real" and what's "fake" in a world where the media landscape is incredibly crowded. It can help influence policies, act as a watchdog on society, or reinforce audience bias. Along with major mainstream companies, people just like us can also gatekeeping by filtering content based on personal relevance. 

Other scientists on the theory such as Shoemaker and Reese ended up expanded gatekeeping with the hierarchy of influences model, which outlines factors that shape media messages across these 5 levels:

- INDIVIDUAL LEVEL: Personal Biases, experiences or preferences of the gatekeepers

- MEDIA ROUTINES LEVEL: Practices like deadlines, professional writing, or newsworthy media

- ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL: Goals, policies, or sector specific priorities of media outlets

- SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS LEVEL: Cultural norms, ideologies, or pressures that influence content

- SOCIAL SYSTEM LEVEL: Broader societal structures such as government regulations or economic forces

This model shows that gatekeepers don't operate by themselves, but that their decision is based on a complex relationship between personal factors and systematic factors. 

    Gatekeeping isn't just about control as one may think, it's about relevance. Although it can be harmful, for the most part it just ensures we engage with content that matters to us, but since it can be harmful, it raises questions about bias and power. Who can accurately and unbiasedly decide what's worthy and what gets left behind?