This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Poor, N. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Playing Internet Curveball with Traditional Media Gatekeepers

Pitcher Curt Schilling and Boston Red Sox Fans

Albion College, USA, natpoor{at}umich.edu

Prior to the 2004 season, pitcher Curt Schilling was traded to the Boston Red Sox baseball team. During trade negotiations, Schilling visited a web-based fan site of the team, and chatted with Red Sox fans. His visit was covered by sports radio and newspaper. Schilling discussed his visit with a sports radio show, where the hosts were not happy that he used the Internet instead of radio. Schilling’s actions make for an interesting real-world case involving media gatekeeping, where different media are intertwined, and where theory can be built from the observation of practice. Schilling used different media depending on his task, and chose media best suited to his purpose. Fans were delighted he chose the web, giving them direct access, but radio hosts felt threatened. Gatekeeping was found to be still useful for identity verification and access control.

Key Words: chat rooms • gatekeepers • gatekeeping • Internet • media • new media

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Vol. 12, No. 1, 41-53 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1354856506061553


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?