While reading "Newsonomics" for class, I found that I was intrigued first and foremost by the concept of editors being gatekeepers. It never occurred to me that pre-Internet, an individual or a select group of individuals had great power in deciding what news was worth being printed. With such few media outlets, the span of news that could be consumed was very limited. As much as I sometimes wish I could have been released into the real world during "the good old days" of journalism, this concept has shifted my thinking.
The idea that I can go on the Internet at any given time and scour it for news that I personally find interesting is something that I have been taking for advantage. With the countless media outlets between the Internet, newspapers and television, there are seemingly endless topics of news stories to be read and explored. Before, I could have read the New York Times, watched the evening news and read my local paper, and that would be mostly the span of news that I would need to read. Now, we have access to so much more, and it is really something that shouldn't be taken for granted.
The dissolving power of editors as "gatekeepers" is causing a huge shift in journalism, and I think its for the better. Being able to consume news that is specifically interesting to you is a privilege, and as much as we want to hate on the Internet for "killing journalism," this concept is truly revolutionary.
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