The doctoral thesis entitled “Levels of Applying Gatekeeper Theory in the Digital Environment and Its Impact on Users of Iraqi Electronic News Websites” by researcher Hind Saeed Assad was discussed at the College of Media, University of Baghdad.
The examination committee consisted of Professor Dr. Saham Hassan Ali as the chairman, Professor Dr. Shakira Cooks as the supervisor, and the members were Assistant Professor Dr. Beirq Hussein, Assistant Professor Dr. Falah Hassan, and Professor Dr. Ali Abbas. Additionally, Professor Dr. Abdullah Muhammad Ibrahim from Benha University in the Arab Republic of Egypt participated as an external member.
The research aims to explore the work of gatekeepers in Iraqi news websites by describing their nature of work and identifying new levels of applying the gatekeeper theory in the digital environment. It also seeks to determine the factors influencing their performance during editing journalistic messages.
Furthermore, the research aims to analyze the impact of applying the gatekeeper theory on users of Iraqi news websites, particularly among faculty members of media colleges, by measuring their attitudes toward the media direction presented by gatekeepers. It also aims to identify the effects of communication technology on the performance of gatekeepers in the digital environment, as well as to understand how users perceive the role of gatekeepers in this environment.
The research concluded that there is an actual application of the gatekeeper theory in Iraqi electronic news websites, indicating a high level of application of this theory in the digital environment. It also identified new competitive forces in the digital environment compared to the traditional one, in addition to the correlation between the level of applying the gatekeeper theory and the extent of usage and follow-up by users of electronic websites.
