DIGITAL DIVISIONS:ORGANIZATIONAL GATEKEEPING PRACTICES IN THE CONTEXT OF

ONLINE NEWSJosh Scacco, PhD @joshscacco

Purdue University

Alex Curry @tweetcurryUniversity of Texas at Austin

Talia Stroud, PhD @taliastroudUniversity of Texas at Austin

ENGAGING NEWS PROJECT

To provide research-based techniques for engaging online audiences in commercially viable and democratically beneficial ways.

@joshscacco @tweetcurry

@engagingnews

NEWS ENGAGEMENT WORKSHOPS

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APPROACH

“I fear the homogeneity hypothesis is too often treated as a matter of faith rather than a starting point for empirical analysis.” (Cook, 2006, p. 164)

Gatekeeping: the winnowing of information to the select group of items that make up the news. (White, 1950)

@joshscacco @tweetcurry

Hierarchical Influences Model (Shoemaker & Reese, 2014; Shoemaker & Vos, 2009)

RESULTS: RESOURCES

Internal

ExternalOther news organizations and the

public

Allocation and newsroom structure

RESULTS: SOCIALIZATION

Internal

ExternalPublic norms of engagement

Newsroom personnel

CONCLUSION

News has fragmented, partly based on organizational divergences.

Organizations have developed different socializing philosophies built within the structures of available resources.

Differences in organizational-level practices give variety to the perspectives, packaging, and dissemination of the news.

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