Gatekeepers

“The gatekeeper is a media person influencing messages en route.” (Vivian 230) So in other words what an individual reads in a paper, magazine, sees on television or hears on the radio are all chosen by the gatekeeper. The person responsible for deciding what the public message is going to be is known as the staffer. These people are not very well known because they work behind the scenes, out of the spotlight. Every story told to the public is edited by the gatekeeper because it is obviously impossible to include every detail of a story. The gatekeeper must edit the story in a way that the validity of a story is told, but in a condensed manner. They do edit the stories based on preferences of the public and opinion. Investigative reporters can be considered gatekeepers because their entire job is to reveal the truth of a story in a honest and honorable fashion. Some spectators consider investigative reporters to be biased by the elite; muckrakers. The importance os the truth in the media is vitally important to the public and that is where investigative reporters play a huge role. The public puts their trust in these reporters to validate the truth