Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Pavel Schlossberg

Second Advisor

Dr. Kristina Morehouse

Third Advisor

Dr. John Caputo

Abstract

Social media has changed the face and function of today’s traditional newsrooms. But, more than that, social media has changed how editors and reporters report the news and, perhaps more importantly, control the flow of information via social media channels. Because social media has sped up the news gathering process, the way news and information in controlled from newsrooms to the general public and vice versa has changed. This study examined seven news professionals ranging in title and duty and asked how big of a part social media played in their day-to-day professional lives and how their respective news outlets “screen” social media news, both incoming and outgoing. The respondents were interviewed and asked a series of 15 questions related to social media, newsroom strategy and news judgement in their respective organizations. Shoemaker’s gatekeeping theory is the basis for this research. Shoemaker and Vos (2009) suggested gatekeepers maintain the flow of information and help that information flow onward. However, the research here shows that downsizing of newsrooms has made an impact on the traditional role of editor to serve as the newsroom gatekeeper, specifically when it comes to social media news and information. The seven respondents were asked a battery of questions to determine how social media plays a role in their daily professional lives and how the flow of news and information works in their respective newsrooms. Those newsrooms varied in size from small community newspapers to larger metropolitan organizations and also included citizen journalism organizations. While this research did show patterns in newsroom gatekeeping processes for social media news and information, additional studies into the dynamics of downsized newsrooms and the evolution of the gatekeeping process with news and information not obtained by social media channels is necessary to paint a more complete picture on the status of overall gatekeeping in today’s newsrooms.

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