Webmasters as mass media gatekeepers: a qualitative exploratory study

Abstract

Eight college and university Webmasters in three midwestern states were interviewed to explore their communications practices and activities by applying a traditional mass media gatekeeping perspective. The results suggest that gatekeeping theory is a valuable approach for studying individuals responsible for the mediation of messages in the emerging online media. Webmasters' personal characteristics and attitudes were found to influence their media content decisions, they share common values used to determine content and design, and they face a variety of organizational and related constraints, some exclusive to Web gatekeepers in an academic setting. Examples of gatekeeping activity and observations by the informants are presented, and suggestions for future research are included.

The Politics of Search: A Decade Retrospective

“…For this reason, search engines are seen as wielding a great deal of power in what people know about a given topic-similar to how traditional news editors and journalists shape what audiences know about a given news topic. This directed flow of information-from an elite body to the public-is known as gatekeeping, and is traditionally applied to mass media contexts to understand the decision-making processes that drive news production in traditional broadcast and print media (Beard & Olsen 1999;Clayman & Reisner 1998;Shoemaker et al 2001;Schoemaker 1996;Whitney & Becker 1982;White 1950). In the context of online information, search engines are also seen to function like the news editor, allowing the search ranking algorithm to determine what content to display for a particular topic.…”

Playing Internet Curveball with Traditional Media Gatekeepers

“…The Internet and gatekeeping has also been a focus of scholars. Beard and Olsen (1999), interviewing academic webmasters, found that traditional gatekeeping theory still applied in the new media age. Meikle (2002) found that the Internet allowed those who are disempowered, in terms of political power, military power, or media ownership, to use the Internet to work around traditional gatekeepers in order to reach audiences.…”

Webmasters, web policies, and academic libraries: a survey

“…Fred Beard and Rolf L. Olsen's (1999) article, “Webmasters as mass media gatekeepers: a qualitative exploratory study”, does not deal directly with policy, but it is interesting as it posits that webmasters' personalities and attitudes influenced how they mediated messages as do other types of media gatekeepers, such as journalists. The authors cite a study of television stations that found that decision‐making seems to be a group process and that it was not always the same number of people involved (Beard and Olsen, 1999). In their study of eight university webmasters, they found that “several Webmasters said there were few institutional policies governing the content and appearance of their sites” (Beard and Olsen, 1999).…”

“…The authors cite a study of television stations that found that decision‐making seems to be a group process and that it was not always the same number of people involved (Beard and Olsen, 1999). In their study of eight university webmasters, they found that “several Webmasters said there were few institutional policies governing the content and appearance of their sites” (Beard and Olsen, 1999). However, they still seek participation and approval from committees, colleagues, supervisors and others.…”