GATEKEEPING IN ACTION - EDITORIAL CONFERENCES AND ASSESSMENTS OF NEWSWORTHINESS

We study how newspaper editors, in conference meetings, jointly determ ine which stories will appear on the front page. Previous research on editorial gatekeeping has identified various standards of newsworthine ss that serve as selection criteria. We focus on the actual practices through which gatekeeping decisions are rendered We provide an overvie w of the primary phases of activity in conference meetings, identify v arious practices for promoting stories as page-one material, and analy ze in detail one particular practice-verbal assessments of newsworthin ess. We find that editors display a systematic preference for mildly f avorable assessments over both stronger and weaker ones, apparently be cause restrained support enables them to maintain solidary relations w ith reporters and editorial colleagues. Moreover, assessment favorabil ity is significantly associated with gate-keeping outcomes.