Where Old (Gatekeepers) Meets New (Media)

Herding reader comments into print

Bibliographic Data

ID12909259
AuthorsKathleen Mcelroy (Drexel University, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume7
Issue6
Pages755-771
Publication date2013-02-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2013.774117
OpenAlexW1887877503
LanguageNL
Citations received14
References cited42

An examination of reader comments published in newspapers shows how journalists shape online content for print. A content analysis of printed comments and interviews with journalists who choose them reveal how gatekeeping constructs a hybrid site of participatory journalism that is similar to but distinct from letters to the editor. Unlike letters, anonymity was the norm. Smaller newspapers predictably printed a larger percentage of comments. But publications of all sizes edited comments, sometimes heavily, before printing them. In selecting comments for newspapers, journalists juggle the immediacy and informality of online conversation with such print standards as context, civility, and readability

Anonymity · Citizen journalism · Civility · Context (archaeology · Conversation · Gatekeeping · Immediacy · Journalism · Media studies · Newspaper · Political science · Sociology · History · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics

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