ABSTRACT
Regrettably, theorizing about gatekeeping has not been in large supply, a problem we explore in a later chapter. The selectivity inherent in the communication process lacked a theoretical focus until Kurt Lewin (1947a) provided the metaphor of the gatekeeper and David Manning White (1950) gave the gatekeeper life under the pseudonym of Mr. Gates. The gatekeeper metaphor off ered early communication scholars a framework for evaluating how selection occurs and why some items are selected and others rejected. It also provided a structure for the study of processes other than selection, such as how content is shaped, structured, positioned, and timed.
