Eight college and university Webmasters in three midwestern states were int
erviewed to explore their communications practices and activities by applyi
ng a traditional mass media gatekeeping perspective. The results suggest th
at gatekeeping theory is a valuable approach for studying individuals respo
nsible for the mediation of messages in the emerging online media. Webmaste
rs' personal characteristics and attitudes were found to influence their me
dia content decisions, they share common values used to determine content a
nd design, and they face a variety of organizational and related constraint
s, some exclusive to Web gatekeepers in an academic setting. Examples of ga
tekeeping activity and observations by the informants are presented, and su
ggestions for future research are included.