Example Of Gate Keeping AND Agenda Setting Research Paper

Abstract

Gatekeeping and agenda setting in the field of media are related since both revolve around dissemination of information. Gatekeeping involves control of information by passing the information through filters while agenda setting involves emphasizing that certain issues receive and the importance placed on the issues by the respondents. However, there are ethical issues that are associated with the two themes such as state sovereignty, journalistic bias, concentration in gate-keeping. On the other hand, ethical issues involving agenda setting include individual’s right to privacy, government censorship, and defamation among others.
For instance, though it is the duty of a journalist to report and pass information that is of public interest, there are some individuals who prefer their issues not to be aired or reported since they feel that it is about their private life which should remain private. Such instances may include rape cases and victims or family members would not want to revisit the issue once it has happened to them.

Gatekeeping and Agenda Setting

Gatekeeping is the process by which information is controlled as it is moved through a certain filter and is associated with exercising different types of power. These different types of power include selecting news, brokering expert information, emphasizing the status quo in a parliamentary committee when mediating between professional and ethnic groups among others (Shoemaker, 2009).
Gatekeeping may also be defined as the process by which numerous messages, running into billions, that are reachable by the world at large are cut down into smaller portions that reach a given person on a given day.

Ethical issues in Gate-keeping

Ethics is a process that involves making rational decisions based on certain philosophical principles or rules. There are various ethical issues in gate-keeping that include:
• Sovereignty-from a law perspective, countries are sovereign and some information should be held in secrecy. On the other hand, the role of the media is to provide information that is of public interest. State have a right of sovereignty but the question arises as to what extent is this right mitigated by human rights. Thus, media finds itself in a difficult situation of the kind of information to disseminate without infringing on the sovereignty of the state.
• Journalistic bias-this factor also leads to ethical issues especially where a journalist holds a belief about his social control impact. That is, some journalists decide to or not to disclose some information due to their perceptions or beliefs about how their influence may affect the situation at hand (Joy, 2009).
• Concentration-this involves consolidating the regulation or control of more and more media outlets into fewer and fewer hands. Journalists are therefore left in a hard place on whether to disclose some information due to the consequences of doing so.

Agenda Setting

Agenda setting refers to the idea of a strong interrelationship between the emphasis that certain issues receive from the media and the importance attributed to these issues by those who receive the information. The emphasis may be in terms of the amount of coverage or the relative placement of the issues at hand (Scheufele, 2007). Thus, agenda setting involves making some issues more salient in people’s minds and thereby shaping the alternatives that make people consider while making judgments. Ethical issues in agenda setting include:
• Right to privacy- crime reporters or media reporters often find themselves at crossroads due to the extent at which they issue the reports. That is, texts are complemented with audio and video evidence bringing the audience closer to the crime spot. However, such disclosure may be infringing on individuals rights of privacy of a person who may not want some details revealed especially if it involves sexual relations (www.transnationalterrorism.eu, 2015).
• Defamation-media reporting has to take into considerations what they reporting and who in the society it involves. This is because, at times, the rich may pursue legal proceedings on the account that the information given about them is false and thus their reputation was defamed thereby seeking compensation. On the other hand, the media is also aware that, the poor may never sue and thus can report an issue to them without fear of appraisal contrary to an individual’s desire.
• Government censorship-the media must also take into account government censorship into account. This is because; control of the media by the government may curtail freedom of speech thereby killing democracy. On the other hand, the media may magnify acts of insurgent terrorists thereby aiding them in their acts (www.transnationalterrorism.eu, 2015).

References

Shoemaker, P., & Vos, T. (2009). Gatekeeping theory. New York: Routledge.
Scheufele, D., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, Agenda Setting, and Priming: The Evolution of Three Media Effects Models. Journal of Communication, 9-20.
Joy Cameron. (2009). Spinning the Web: The influence of the Internet on the reporting of crime and criminal justice in traditional media Journalism. Discipline Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Bond University
Terrorism and the Media. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://www.transnationalterrorism.eu/tekst/publications/WP4 Del 6.pdf>.
Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/237394610_The_Agenda Setting_Role_of_the_Mass_Media_in_the_Shaping_of_Public_Opinion. [Accessed on 23/04/2015]