User Contributed Dictionary
Noun
gatekeepers- Plural of gatekeeper
Extensive Definition
A gatekeeper is defined as someone who controls
access to something. It
also refers to individuals who decide whether a given message will
be distributed by a mass
medium.
Gatekeeping Roles
Gatekeepers serve several different purposes such as academic admissions, financial advising, and news editing. Academic admissions plays a vital role in every student's life. They look at qualifications such as test scores, race, social class, grades, family connections, and even athletic ability. Perhaps one of the most important kind of gatekeeper is one who provides financial advice. In order to reduce fraud and unqualified advice, various certifications for financial advisers exist. Another type of gatekeeper is a news editor. An editor picks out what stories would be most informative and popular. For example, a presidential resignation would be on the front page of a newspaper rather than a celebrity break-up in most cases.Network television gatekeeping
Television gatekeeping has a variety of responsibilities such as the coordination of activities, control of money, management and personnel, and the application of authority. A gatekeeper in this field decides what subject and when the subject airs on TV. They also have control over what television programs actually air on their broadcast.Academic Peer Review
Peer Review
is a practice widely used by specialized journals that publish
articles reporting new research, new discoveries, or new analyses
in a specific academic field or area of focus. Journal editors ask
one or more subject matter experts deemed to be "peers" of an
article's author or authors to assess an article's suitability for
publication in the journal. The intent of peer review is to
determine that articles submitted for publication relate to the
subject matter charter of the journal and comply with standards of
format, tone, and style.
Notwithstanding the fact that the intent of peer
review is to insure suitability and editorial quality, issues of
preference or exclusion of articles are raised from time to time
relating to the intellectual prejudices, career rivalries, or other
biases of the journal editors or peer reviewers.
Credentialism
Credentialing is the practice of evidencing
suitability for engaging in a profession or for employability
through documentation of demonstrated competency or experience,
completion of education or training, or other criteria as specified
by a credentialing authority. The documentation provided by the
authority are known as "credentials", and may be in the form of a
license, certificate of competency, a diploma, a teaching
credential, a board certification, or a similar document. Credentialism
refers to the practice of relying on credentials to prove the
suitability of a professional person or a skilled employee to be
assigned the responsibilities of professional engagement or
employment.
To the extent that employers may specify
credentials that are more than needed for an employment position,
or accede to the pressures of organizations that award credentials
to require specific credentials, the inappropriate or unnecessary
requirement for credentials may be a form of gatekeeping.
Internet Search Engines
Internet search
engines such as Google,
Yahoo!
Search, Ask.com and others
can give the illusion that they are conducting broad, unencumbered
searches for the information as specified by the user. However,
search engines can be instructed, openly or internally, to modify
or redirect a searches, or to exclude qualifying items from the
search results. The search engine serves as an instrument for a
gatekeeper, who may be the search engine provider, an influential
search engine customer, or a government.
Internet search engines in China have openly been restricted at
the command of the Chinese government to exclude search terms that
the government disapproves of.