Blog #9 EOTO #2

The theories that I researched were Gatekeeping and Agenda setting. No, I am not talking about a place where you can get your favorite makeup and you are upset that it has become popular, but you wanted to gatekeeper it. Also, no I am not talking about how you can set your agenda for today’s calendar on what you did today. I am going to talk about how these two theories impact our life in multiple aspects. 

Kurt Lewin

Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered before spreading out. This theory was created by Kurt Lewin. He is a German Psychologist and studied Social Psychology. Gatekeeping is like instant messaging or a news channel without using visuals. It is the ultimate form of communication due to its ability to change a narrative, people's reaction, even how people interact with the issue. According to Cambridge University Press & Assessment, Gatekeeping is the activity of trying to control who gets particular resources, power, opportunities, and who does not”.

Gatekeeping occurs every day in friendships, Hospitals, Universities, Jobs, News, and even our own government. Out of most times, these instances occur because the person is trying to not make people afraid or feel worthless. Despite some examples having good intentions, it can also have negative impacts.

2020 Election Biden v. Trump

One example is News channels; journalist report about news that happens all over the world. It allows people voices to be heard and spread awareness about problems in the community. However, some journalists allow report or share information about matter based on popularity or what the public deems interesting which can be harmful as it can lead to agenda setting.

Incident such as the 2020 election, some news outlet focused on rumors or defamation on certain candidates instead focusing on the true intentions of the candidates and their policies. This is very harmful because they President position is an important job that effects millions of people every day and even the world. News channels would focus on candidate smearing each other's name by making meme and trying to get attention for their channel instead of focusing on the important things such as polices and future plans for the nation.

Photo of Blood Diamond mining

Another example of where gatekeeping is common is the government. The U.S. government hides important information all the time when it comes to addressing the public. It helps them set a narrative and control how much information that the public wants to have access to. Such as many people know about the conflict between Israel and Palestine but there are other wars that other people do not about the genocide and slave labor in Congo. 

Congo is a wealthy country when it comes to resources and trading goods. There are mining fields controlled by militia groups. It is called Blood Diamonds, where military officers force citizens to mine for gold, diamonds, and other types of jewelry. These people are restricted and subjected to brutal treatment in order to produce huge amounts of goods.

Photo of Blood Diamonds

They are slaves because they cannot rebel or get caught stealing diamonds as the consequence is limbs are cut off. This has been happening for years, and these diamonds are sold all over the world. Anyone in the world could be wearing a blood diamond and they do not even know because the government has restricted the media attention to this issue. As the benefit for this issue through consumerism. My question is why we know about Palestine v. Israel and Russia v. Ukraine, but not about the unjust slave labor war zones in Congo.

Agenda setting is the power that the media has to influence what people think by deciding the topics that receive attention. It was created by Maxwell Mccombs and Donald Shaw in 1972. Agenda setting is the media being able to shape a narrative and influence how their audience interprets an issue helping determine its importance in society. Similar to gatekeeping, Agenda setting also occurs in everyday life such as social media, political matters, Disease outbreaks, and activism movements.

A good example of agenda setting is the Black Lives Matter Movement brought attention to the unfair treatment toward African Americans by police officers. It made people think about the systematic oppression and double standards that people of color face due to stereotypes. It was not until the year 2020, this movement was on every single news outlet and even political figures discussed this issue inside the house and senate. This movement has inspired change and made people more aware about the importance of this issue to ensure that it does not keep happening. It set the standard of holding police accountable and protested for equality.

Both of these theories have many impacts on everyone’s life, positively and negatively. Both hold power to form how we think, act, and know about the world. They can inspire change, critical thinking, advocate, even shape our mindsets, opinions and beliefs. However, it can also censor and suppress minority voices, promote stereotypes and extremist thinking. Overall, these theories shape our society and show the true influence that words and media have on people.