Gate Keeping Theory
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Kurt Lewin originally developed the concept of gatekeeping theory to describe how information is filtered for dissemination through various channels of communication. Gatekeeping refers to the process by which individuals or organizations make decisions about allowing or blocking information to pass through different gates. At each gate, a gatekeeper determines what information is appropriate or inappropriate to pass through based on various influences like social norms, ethics, and policies. Gatekeeping theory is now widely used in fields like journalism and mass media to understand how and why certain information gets selected for publication or broadcasting while other information gets rejected.
Gate Keeping Theory
- 2. INTRODUCTION Gatekeeping is the process through which information in publications, broadcasting, and the Internet is filtered for dissemination. Originally focused on the mass media with its few-to-masses dynamic, theories of gatekeeping also now include the workings of face-to-face communication and the many-to-many dynamic now easily available via the Internet. Gatekeeping was formally identified in Kurt Lewin’s publication, Forces Behind Food Habits and Methods of Change (1943). Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication that may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body.
- 3. Kurt Zadek Lewin Kurt Zadek Lewin (1890-1947), was born in German. He was a great Psychologist and pioneer in Social Psychology. He developed the concept in the field of psychology called psychological “field” and “life space” in order to understand the human behavior and its important consideration of total life space. His studies are more based on to understand a person’s own world, physical, mental and social through frequent conversation between his pre-memories, desire and his goals. And also his works help to understand the relationship between attitudes and behavior in the group or individuals.
- 4. Kurt Lewin coins the word called “Gate keeping”. It’s nothing but to block unwanted or useless things by using a gate. Here the person who make a decision is called “Gatekeeper”. At first it is widely used in the field of psychology and later it occupies the field of communication. Now it’s one of the essential theories in communication studies.
- 5. CONCEPT The Gatekeeper decides what information should move to group or individual and what information should not. Here, the gatekeeper are the decision makers who letting the whole social system. The gatekeeper is having its own influence like social, cultural, ethical and political. Based on personal or social influences they let the information to the group. Through this process the unwanted, sensible and controversial information’s are removed by the gate keeper which helps to control the society or a group and letting them in a right path. In home mother plays the vital role and she has to decide what their kid’s needs and what should avoid.
- 6. In news medium editor play vital role. He has to decide what kind of news items will publish and what should not. Every day the news channel receives various news items from all over the world. The channel have its own ethics and policies through this the editor decide the news items for publish or aired. In some cases few news items are rejected by the editor due the organizations policy or the news items which are not suitable for publish.
- 8. EXAMPLE An international news channel receives numbers of news items within day like international terror issues, UN discussions, Texas bull fighting and religious abuse on international community. A news channel can’t show all those news items to audience because it may affect the channel reputation in public and organizations policy. Here, editor decides the news items especially he can’t show the Texas bull fighting because it is not internationally popular story. But the same time the news channel can’t show the religious abuses also because it may hurt audience directly and it may affect organizations policy also. But international terror issues and UN discussions are universal common news that won’t affect the channel reputation in public and organizations policy.
- 9. LEWIN'S MODEL Lewin's gatekeeping model demonstrates that: -Food reaches the table through channels e.g. grocery store. -Some food items may be selected or not. -Sections: multiple decision points (Should the food be purchased or not?). -Gate: the entrance to each channel or section of a channel. -Movement from one channel to the next is determined by the gatekeeper. -Positive and negative forces surround the gate.
- 11. Levels of Media Gatekeeping 1. Individuals – Decisions are personal. 2. Routine Practices of Communication Work – Decisions are made according to a pre-established and generalized set of practices. 3. Communication Organizations – Exists within an environment of social institutions that affect the gatekeeping process. 4. Social Institutions – Events vary to a degree that they are culturally available as news items. 5. Societies – Culture, indicators of social significance, including political, influences selection decisions affecting the extent to which different parts of the world are covered and how they are covered.
- 12. Influences of the Gatekeeping Process Individual - The journalist alone selects how the information gets sorted. No other external help on the matter. Routine - Commonly seen in more prominent news media, this is commonly seen with tied with agenda-setting due to a recurrent theme being portrayed in all news. Organizational - Similar to routine, but process is molded according to the organization's views and opinions. Extra-Media - Sponsors, contributors, and other external forces that can have any influence in determining how the information gets organized. Ideological - “Ideological analysis involves assumptions about power and how it is distributed in society”