Question

When all media sources report a simplified version of the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, with no effort to convey the hard science and complicated statistical data behind the story, ___________ is probably occurring.
gatekeeping
the digital divide
technophilia
market segmentation

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. Gatekeeping

Explanation:

Gatekeeping refers to the process in which information is summarized, filtered or reduced in a way is understood by a general audience usually because the information is published for the general public. This occurs in mass media as editors, reporters and almost all agents involved cannot include all the information and therefore need to decide on which information will be included and which would be excluded. This occurs in the case presented as all the media sources created a simplified version that can be understood by the general public rather than all the information and statistical data that would be too much to process for the public and too difficult for those without an academical background. Therefore in this case gatekeeping is occurring as information is reduced because it was going to be published for a broad audience.