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.
Keywords
Citation
Beard, F. and Olsen, R.L. (1999), "Webmasters as mass media gatekeepers: a qualitative exploratory study", Internet Research, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 200-211. https://doi.org/10.1108/10662249910274601
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited