Week #7: How do media gate keepers operate?

(Week 7: April 27- May 3)

Goals, overview. Gate keeping is a term in wide use to describe those people, organizations or structures that control the flow of information, thus limiting what the rest of us can know by virtue of the decisions they make about what we are allowed to experience. The goal of this activity is to better understand how media gate keepers operate.

Activities. To better understand the concept of gate keeping,
read this overview from the University of Twente's Media, Culture and Society web site.

Photo Retouching. Why is photo retouching included in the section of this course on gate keeping? Because publishers "gate keep" by not allowing us to see people as they really are. Want proof? First, watch The Photoshop Effect, which features an interview with a professional photographer who talks about the prevalence of digital photo retouching in his profession and offers examples of his craft. Then, go to Girl Power, which deconstructs a digitally retouched photo. Be sure to click on the picture until you get the menu of photo changes. Then, step through the changes to see how the picture was retouched. A very popular video about this topic is Dove's Evolution of Beauty, which shows a time lapse series of a woman's face being prepared for billboard publication. And lest you think that photo retouching is something that only professionals can do, read A 'beauty function' for a better look. The article examines software that can "automatically make you look 'better.'"

Film rating. Next watch the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated. You will enjoy your viewing experience more if you rent it (or buy it) than if you watch it through Google video. Here are three ways to watch it:

• Buy it from Amazon
  
• Watch it through Google Video
• Read an interview with the film producers that explains the movie and what they discovered (a direct transcript of the movie does not appear to be available); you might also want to read Steve Carlson's review of the movie
  

Porn and strong language alert. This documentary looks at film rating in the U.S., and thus shows examples of the kinds of things that are blocked. I tell you just in case you were thinking of watching it with your kids.

Additional web resources

• Who decides who sees what on the web? by Don Dodge (1/23/06)
• No gatekeepers - just a bunch of turnstiles by Mathew Ingram (1/20/06)
• Bloggers push past the old media's gatekeepers by Tom Fiedler (Nieman Reports, Summer 2008)
  

Forum discussion question: Based on your activities this week, how do you suspect gate keepers influence a major source of information you use? You don't need to prove this - just suspect it and be able to support your suspicion critically and rationally. Also, respond to two other posts from colleagues. Discussion concludes on the weekend.

Post on your blog, using the heading “Consumer psychology.” Post a minimum of 2-3 paragraphs that summarize how you view gate keeping in media. Include references to the material that you watched. What are your “take-away” realizations as a result of this activity? As always, feel free to note any biases you suspect in the materials that were used. Also, be vigilant about using visually differentiated text in your presentation. Remember: blog posts need to be completed by Sunday evening.

* image from Clipart.com, through a paid subscription