The Media Gatekeeping Model Updated by R and I in ICTs

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of digital technologies on media networks, in particular how they affect the traditional gatekeeping model. Wireless communications are the hot point of all digital technologies, and their application to the transmission of the Olympic Games is a milestone for the global creative industries every two/four years. The authors argue that the research and innovation (R&I) industries’ involvement with the media industries needs to be reconsidered within the framework of an updated media gatekeeping model. To investigate this research question, results are reported from a case study examining the gatekeeping processes in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and the subsequent Olympics up to 2016. Results show the need for a new gatekeeping model that takes into consideration the impact of digital technologies, especially wireless communications. Additionally, new decision models regarding innovation investment in the global media industry are suggested by the impact of R&I on the media gatekeeping model itself.