Gatekeeping

Theory
Syachrukh Ramadhan S. (210110101085)
Edzi dwi Pratama (210110101087)
Table of Contents
01 Basic News Function of The Press

02 The Origin of The concept of

Gatekeeping

03 Opening The Gate: Criteria For Selecting

The News

News Values as
04 Gatekeeping Criteria
01
Basic News
Function of the
Press
 Basic News Function
of the Press
In both language and media, the press'
prime objective is to inform the people
about news and events taking place across
the world. This requires compiling data,
looking into rumors, and quickly and
accurately informing the public of the
truth.
Modern terminology refers
to the three duties of the
press as having expanded the
watchdog responsibilities of
the press to the people it 02
serves to encompass extra
communication activities.
01 Correlation of the parts of the
They were defined by political Survillance of the society in responding to the
scientist Harold D. Lasswell environment environment
in 1948 as:

03
Transmission of the social
heritage from one generation
to the next
02
The Origin of
the Concept of
Gatekeeping
The Origin of the Concept of
Gatekeeping
The act of compiling and disseminating a selection
of news stories via a mass medium is by no means
the only instance of "gatekeeping" in use today. It
is common in many disciplines to examine a pool
of several items, apply a set of criteria, and then
choose from that pool a final reduced number for
treatment.
The Origin of the Concept of
Gatekeeping
The act of choosing, vetting, and presenting
information to the general audience is referred to
as gatekeeping in language and media. It is
predicated on the notion that editors and journalists
have the authority to choose what information is
newsworthy and how to portray it. The idea of
gatekeeping dates back to the 1940s, when social
scientists first started researching how the media
shapes public opinion.
The Origin of the Concept
of Gatekeeping
One example of gatekeeping in action
is the coverage of political
campaigns. Journalists and editors
have the power to decide which
candidates and issues receive the most
coverage, and how those candidates
and issues are portrayed. This can have
a significant impact on public opinion
and the outcome of elections.
03
Opening The
Gate: Criteria
For Selecting
The News
The News Perspective
In this section, we will discuss the news
perspective, which is a set of criteria and
beliefs shared by journalists for selecting
news stories that not only serve the public
interest but also meet the commercial
objectives of the media. The news
perspective reflects economic, organizational,
and personal factors that determine the biases
and slants in news reporting.
The News Perspective
In this section, we will discuss the news
perspective, which is a set of criteria and
beliefs shared by journalists for selecting
news stories that not only serve the public
interest but also meet the commercial
objectives of the media. The news
perspective reflects economic, organizational,
and personal factors that determine the biases
and slants in news reporting.
The News Perspective
The selection of news stories is influenced not
only by reporters but also by media
management responsible for the financial
bottom line of the medium. The need to
generate revenue from advertisers and attract
and retain subscribers or viewers is a
significant factor in how news media are
organized.
 The news perspective has been used since the early days of the mass
newspaper and has evolved over time, leading to the current concept of
"infotainment" in news selection and treatment.
 The convergence of various factors in news selection has led to a
remarkable uniformity in news topics covered by daily press in the United
States, as well as radio and television news.
Today, there are an increasing number of websites that provide detailed reviews of
news stories, all of which rely on advertising revenue.
A story must contain as many of the elements that journalists refer to as news values in
order to attract and maintain the interest of a large audience. These elements are
features of stories that have been proven to have the best chances of drawing audiences'
attention and maintaining their interest.
04
News Values as
Gatekeeping
Criteria
News Values as
Gatekeeping Criteria
The news perspective has evolved over time,
determining what features of a story will make it a
worthy selection to get through the gate. This is
judged by the gatekeeper who makes the decision
whether to let it through. The criteria for making
judgments about newsworthiness are known as "news
values" and are used by journalists at all stages of
story preparation, processing, and dissemination. The
news values listed in the next slide illustrate the
concept.
 Impact
This refers to the number
of people whose lives or
circumstances will be
influenced by the events of
the story.

x
Ex: If a train is derailed and one
person was killed, the story may
have some newsworthiness.
However, if the same train is
derailed and 100 people were killed,
the newsworthiness of the story is
greatly enhanced.
Proximity
A story about an event occurring
locally is generally more
newsworthy than one that is about a
similar event that happened far Unidentified man found dead after being hit by
a train in Demak, Surabaya
away.
x
Ex: The train wreck that killed 100
people would be enormously
newsworthy if it occurred in the
immediate area. It would rivet the
attention of nearly everyone.

A Greek train driver was told to ignore a red

light before a head-on crash killed 57
 Timeliness
Journalists have learned that it is
important to get news reports to
the public while they are “fresh.”
Stale news can be a problem. One
reason is that it might cause the
x audience to turn to another source
that is able to get the information
to them more promptly. A long-
term tradition in journalism is that
the source that can “scoop” the
competition has the best chance of
attracting the largest audience.
Prominence
Stories about individuals who are
very familiar to the public—
politicians, sports figures,
entertainers, etc.—have much
higher news value than those who
are obscure.

Thus, the affair between President

Clinton and Monica Lewinski created a
journalistic counterpart of a shark
feeding frenzy when the story first
broke. It was incredibly newsworthy.
Conflict
Struggles of one side against
the other command attention.

Thus, if there is a public

facility that is having a
problem and those who live or
work nearby believe that it
will create unwanted
conditions. A conflict will be
generated that can generate
news stories for a long period
of time.
Currency
Stories reporting on issues that are in
the spotlight of public concern are of
higher news value than those dealing
with issues that people care little
about.

Thus, if Congress passes new

legislation that helps seniors pay for
prescription drugs, news reports are
likely to be widely read—not only be
seniors but also by their children.
The Bizarre
Stories about bizzare topics
have high news value.

Ex: Reports of UFOs, Bigfoot,

and unexplained events in the
Bermuda Triangle have long
provided interest.
Thanks