Our second EOTO theme is theories and I get to research gatekeeping. Gatekeeping is a very interesting term because it is very common in today's society with different meanings. With this term, I hear it a lot, but I never really got a good understanding of how much it is used. Gatekeeping is the process of restricting or controlling public access to something.
People may question if gatekeeping is a good or bad thing for people and the public? Gatekeeping: What It Is and Its Impact has a lot to talk about on how toxic gatekeeping is to others' mental health. In the text, it mentions, "Gatekeeping remains very toxic, exclusionary, and hurtful to many. It can be very harmful to someone’s mental health. While yes, sometimes it is minor, it can get very serious and very harmful quickly. " To put it simply, gatekeeping is the practice of preventing members of a community or group from participating based on factors like loyalty, knowledge, or how you learned about something.
The audience watching the news and reading what they see on social media needs to make sure that it is a reliable source. The news channels will pick and choose what information they want to be public and it is not fair to the people watching. "Audiences have become too used to this fast-paced and competitive environment of breaking news and sometimes lack understanding, that what is published into the media is not always reliable and honest." People can't just believe the first piece of information they see or hear because they could be feeding false information.
This has the potential to lure viewers in clickbait-filled social media environments, like Facebook. The audience will only trust the messages they are exposed to on the public website if they lack the knowledge to distinguish between fact and fiction.
As a result, we need gatekeepers who can help in analyzing this, expose the truth in the media, and establish a moral public space that can regulate professional standards. The reporters just repeat what they are told to say. They do not care if it is the truth or not because this is what their everyday job is and they are getting paid for it. That is why it is so important to make sure that people do their research on what is going on in today's world.
They create a hierarchy of sorts that will be utilized to decide what is and is not important to the audience. These choices are influenced by the current political, social, cultural, and ethical developments. One example that was written in this article shows why there is so much fake news being thrown around. "An example can be in the news or press area. The news editor plays the role of the gatekeeper. S/he has to decide which kind of news stories will be aired and in which manner and which ones won’t. Some, if not all media outlets have their own set of house rules, ethics or policies to be followed. These are some of the aspects that will guide the editor towards making an informed decision. "
With these being lying to the public it will receive backlash from the public because the people just want the truth. There is a saying that the truth always comes out no matter how much people try and gatekeep it from the public. Gatekeeping really does horrible things to society, making people dislike each other just because of the fake news people believe in.
This can very well affect my family and friends just as much as it affects everyone else who is listening to the news. Just like everyone else, I do not want to be listening to fake news just as much as my family and friends don't. It can lead to problems with people and cause conflict about all the stuff being shown on social media as well. It is important to make sure that everyone is retaining truthful information rather than being told lies. Gatekeeping is an extremely important term that holds a strong value in today's world.
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