The effectiveness of gatekeeping More recent studies on the effectiveness of gatekeeping by Bruns (2005) argue in the digital age journalism is increasingly influenced from the outside. According to Bruns (2005) “the fourth estate is in danger of being overwhelmed by the ‘fifth estate’, the growing number of PR merchants and spin doctors influencing the news agenda undermining the reality of the gatekeeping process itself”. Furthermore, in this day and age 24 hours news broadcast results in journalists relying on material from the so called fifth estate rather than investing time and money on independent research (Bruns, 2005). The world wide web, however, has enabled consumers to be less dependent and reliant on what actually comes through the gates of the mainstream news organisations; they can go past these and enquire further at the source (Bruns, 2005). How did gatekeeping work in the case of my story? In other words, what was the main reason for me to choose this particular story on English wine over others? Did it “make it” because the subconscious me who enjoys a good glass of wine favoured this story over the others (people with gambling problems and the rising number of complusive gamblers; or the closure of the last remaining coal mine in Yorkshire and its social impact on the region)? There is a catalogue of reasons for doing the story on wine; the personal attitude, however, was certainly the least important. Needless to say is the production process of a
It being the leading source of news since the printing press. We put our faith in the media to report accurate facts unbiasedly. Between 1983 and now the media industry has consolidated from 50 individual companies to 6. That means that though the impression given is that there are a multitude of sources to attain information, the messages being communicated are all one in the same. The limitation of media sources cause a ripple effect of limited information, allowing these companies to control the public’s perception on
Public trust is at the heart of journalism. Such trust is built upon the credibility journalistic efforts. In the past, though mistakes have been made by even the most reputable of news providers, credibility was maintained and public trust in the journalist industry was steady. However, with the Internet taking its first infant steps into the reporting world, concern is being vocalized that public trust in journalism will be damaged by mavericks, such as Matt Drudge, who, without any foundation in reporting seek to tell the entire world every little secret he can dig up. And he’s been wrong.
He believes that the capitalist colonization of the digital world has led to this collapse of professional-quality journalism as a result of the further commercialization of journalism. In recent years, investigative journalism has been declining and media companies have shifted away from it and settled for repeating prepackaged messages. It is difficult for real journalism to exist when its revenue is based on advertisement. McChesney argues that journalism should be considers as public goods and that we should create non-commercial forms of journalism and non-profit media. One of the “darkest episodes of American journalism history” was the invasion of Iraq based on the U.S. administration’s claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. These claims went unchallenged by the media because of the lack of investigative journalism, McChesney believes. Furthermore, he ends with bold proposals to reform journalism and the entire media. He proposes a strict regulation of advertising and limitations on ownership of broadcast media and expansion of nonprofit and publicly supported journalism. I agree with McChesney about the decline of quality journalism and I believe reforms to media must happen. However, I am uncertain how this would be possible with all the control these wealthy corporations, and their partners, have over the media. It will need a huge
During this week I investigated many different news sources and different tactics they use. My research has shown the incredibly strong bias that the media has. To get a full grasp of the biases I had to use source diversity. My sources ranged from social media, to television, to web-based articles. Through my research, I discovered the effective and prevalent uses of loaded language, social media, sensationalism, bias in quotes, and the role of gatekeepers in media.
There are newspapers (such as the “National Enquirer”) renowned for their fictitious (although admittedly attention-grabbing) headlines, yet we hardly hesitate to assume the information is fabricated. On the other hand, when our trusted news sources present their stories, many automatically assume the information is true, which is why “[e]rroneous reporting by established organizations is a bigger threat than
In today’s society, remaining connected and knowledgeable of current events and the newest trends is vital to staying ahead in business, education, and social standing. This information is supplied to everyone through the internet, newspapers, television, and radio. One can tune into stations such as CNN, NBC, Fox News, Al-Jazeera, and many others (“SQs of Media Outlets”). In order to meet the needs of viewers, readers, and listeners, the ideal media system would contain accurate, quick information, with a purely impartial view on the facts as they are known. However, this modern media system has not maintained an objective view, pushing opinionated and slanted reporting onto the population in order to create profit and gain customers. The exploitation of information media for personal gain has created a toxic and inaccurate present, constant in today’s society.
Recent changes in the media landscape such as the explosion of online information sources have brought changes in credibility judgment online. One of the most notable changes is the shift of responsibility for credibility evaluation to information seekers (Cosenza, Solomon, & Kwon, 2014). When a limited number of authorized institutions such as the news media could do public dissemination of information, information was selected to publish via professional gatekeeping process (Metzger & Flanagin, 2013). Individuals granted trust to the process and believed such institutions to be able to provide reliable information. In recent, however, the Internet has created information-abundant environments in which the gatekeeping process cannot properly
Until the 1980s, the control of the media was in the hands of the national government. From then, the control shifted to private outlets and by the 1990’s, there were more than fifty multinational companies who controlled it (“Mass Media”). Today, only about six major companies control the larger fraction of media in America (Williams, Par. 1). Norman Solomon wrote in the New Political Science Journal that most reporters and editors work for just a few huge companies. These journalists and editors are on the payroll for “mega-media institutions”, of which, only about six exist (Solomon 297). How much will the public learn if these companies generally control the output of information?
The same goes for media outlets in favour of their own political parties. In recent years the post-truth has started to take over politics. In this essay, I will argue that Yes, I’d lie to you, by The Economist, is correct in saying that the post-truth is taking over politics in recent times due to new technology, a deluge of facts, and a public much less given to trust than once it was. In Yes, I’d lie to you the author argues that new technology, a flood of facts, and a public more easily convinced by repeated false assertions are all contributing to
Nowadays journalists have the responsibility to report facts as accurately, objectively, and disinterestedly as is humanly possible. ‘’The, honest, self-disciplined, well-trained reporter seeks to be a propagandist for nothing but the truth’’ (Casey, 1944b).
The concept of journalism has always been regarded with skepticism. People are not sure which newspapers or news stations to trust. Naturally, the audience gravitates towards mainstream news providers like CNN or The New York Times. These sources, along with many others, have been accepted for their credibility. Recently, however, another source has been capturing the audience’s attention. This source is known as citizen journalism, and its contributions to society have had a huge impact. Whether or not these contributions are credible has become an issue that sparks debate among the audience. This issue is researched in an academic journal called Cynics and Skeptics: Evaluating the Credibility of Mainstream and Citizen Journalism.
Gatekeeping is “controlling access to goods, services, or information, usually applied by individuals or groups in hierarchical organizations. ” (CSA). As it applies to media, gatekeeping refers to the method in which information is filtered for distribution, this can be done through the internet, print or broadcasting. Due to the power that gatekeepers wield in controlling what we as the public read, hear or see, there are many ethical concerns to be considered and liberties to be safeguarded.
These include tacit procedures, routines and conditions that can both expand and constrain the room for maneuver. Such rules and procedures become internalized and are perceived as more or less natural ways to go about doing things. If we then consider news media in this perspective, it becomes clear that regardless of the organization, there is a common understanding of certain basic genre rules that news reporting must observe and conventions regarding what is relevant and how it should be presented. This understanding is also reflected in both sources’ and the public’s expectations and requirements. News desks solve the problem by establishing certain routines for surveillance and news gathering in certain areas and through decisions concerning frameworks for the content ‘mix’, page or program editing, and design. Reporters are forced, as Gaye Tuchman (1973) so aptly put it, to “routinize the unexpected“. News stories are generally presented in familiar wrappings. Another characteristic of institutions is that they extend over space and endure over time. “Institutions by definition are the more enduring features of social life,“ as Anthony Giddens (1984:24) observes. News enterprises differ with respect to their size, geographical locality, orientation toward their audiences, technology and financing; they were
The overview of the subject matter is that the big worry is that quality will decline Journalists are employed to check their facts and they get checked in turn by editors who question the reliability of their sources; we trust the paper’s brand not the individual journalist. Social media could be reliable, but how would we know? This is equally true then it comes to bias. But the fact of the matter is journalism is more credible and if we lose credibility in the information we get everything could fall for speculation. The authors’ thesis is we should not stand for the decline of journalism as a profession but support our right to have valuable information
To wholly have a grasp on how this new founded approach to journalism has changed alongside technology—as well as understanding the dangers such openness brings forth—one has to understand what exactly those changes are. Primarily, those that are writing for the sake of offering information have, whether willingly or not, fed into the usage of social media as it has become a centralized method of distribution that is relatively inescapable with the current times. As such those framing the news for the masses find an authentic avenue to stay in contact via social media that has benefits ranging from, “its extraordinary newsgathering potential; its potential as a new tool to engage the audience; and as a way of distributing our news” (Eltringham, 2012), all of which are deeply different from the presentation of reporting that occurred during earlier eras. Days of strongly structured instances of journalism that could not travel with such speed have been replaced as, “social media has trashed many of the foundations on