The Role of the Media

Media are means of transmitting information, which is important for a democracy in which citizens must make their own informed decisions.

Learning Objective

Give a concrete example of gatekeeping that may have political consequences

Key Points

In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data.
Media of the United States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites.
Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television, and the majority of households have more than one.
A central method in which the media influences the U.S. political system is through gatekeeping, a process through which information is filtered for dissemination, be it publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other type of communication.
The Internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to deliver news and, significantly, the means to look up old news. Some organizations only make limited amounts of their output available for free and charge for access to the rest.
The U.S. has three leading weekly newsmagazines: Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report.
The Internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to deliver news and, significantly, the means to look up old news. Some organizations only make limited amounts of their output available for free and charge for access to the rest.

Terms

Gatekeeping
Gatekeeping is practiced by gatekeepers, people who control access to something, for example, via a city gate. In the late twentieth century, the term came into metaphorical use, referring to individuals who decide whether a given message will be distributed by a mass medium.
media
In communications, media (singular medium) are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data.

Example

Media can influence politics by what they say, but also by what they don't say. Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, be it publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other type of communication. Gatekeeping occurs at all levels of the media structure, from a reporter deciding which sources are included in a story to editors deciding which stories are printed or covered, and includes media outlet owners and even advertisers. In 1950, the idea of gatekeeping was officially applied to news. David Manning White looked at the factors an editor takes into consideration when deciding which news will make the paper and which news will not. White contacted an editor, a man called Mr. Gates who was in his mid-40s and had 25 years of experience in journalism. Mr. Gates was the wire editor of a morning newspaper with a circulation of 30,000 in a mid-west city of 100,000. As it happened, he retained all copy (news stories) that he rejected from the paper. After his shift, he made notes on why each story was rejected, assuming he could still remember the reason. White wanted to know whether Mr. Gates's decisions were objective or whether they were subjective and based on the editor's own set of experiences, attitudes, and expectations. He found that rejections could be classified in two ways: 1) rejecting based on not being worthy of being reported or 2) rejecting based on duplicate of other reports on the same thing. These considerations fit with what we call news norms today: objective decisions about what is fit to print. However, Mr. Gates also admitted to preferring political news to other types, trying to avoid sensationalism, not liking suicide stories, and preferring stories that were more narrative and did not contain facts or figures. He also admitted that he did not like giving page space to a scandal that had been going on in the Catholic Church at the time. Thus, Mr. Gates was acting as a gatekeeper by making decisions about what sorts of news would receive space in his newspaper.

Full Text

In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data. Media are often referred to as synonymous with mass media or news media, but may refer to a single medium used to communicate any data for any purpose. Media of the United States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large revenues, as well as large opposition in many parts of the world.

A central method in which the media influences the U.S. political system is through gatekeeping, a process through which information is filtered for dissemination, be it publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other type of communication. Gatekeeping occurs at all levels of the media structure, from a reporter deciding which sources are included in a story to editors deciding which stories are printed or covered, and includes media outlet owners and even advertisers. This, in turn, determines to a great extent which issues will be important to Americans and on the agendas of their elected officials.

The Internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to deliver news and, significantly, the means to look up old news. Some organizations only make limited amounts of their output available for free, and charge for access to the rest. Other organizations allow their archives to be freely browsed. It is possible that the latter type obtain more influence, as they are true to the spirit of freedom of information by virtue of making it free. Anyone who has followed external links only to be confronted with a pay-to-view banner might attest that the reputations of organizations that charge is not enhanced by their charging policy, particularly when the same information is available from sources that don't charge.

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