Rethinking gatekeeping

Media research has long given special attention to the notion of a \u27gatekeeper\u27. With established mass media the gatekeeper came in many guises, as a managing editor, copy editor or in some cases a lawyer, each of whom could influence (or decide) what got published and in what form. Or even decide that material would not become available through them to wider publics. The role of gatekeepers has also been tied to the notion of Agenda Setting, particularly with newspapers, who can frame major issues as to what becomes news. However with the advent of the Internet the content paradigm of institutional power has been turned upside down and users have become increasingly empowered to get their own content out to wider publics