Finding "Gatekeeping": Lewin's Thought And American Communication Studies

This article is basically a review to the contribution of Kurt Lewin,the German-American scholar in the field of Communication.With sufficient knowledge of domestic and foreign literature about introduction and induction of ideas of Communication,a paradox phenomenon is found:Lewin is recognised as one of four founders of the field of Communication Study in Wilbur Schramm's Communication Study Structure;however,many researchers' understandings and comments to Lewin show the features of inanition and fragmentation;that is,using the concept of"gatekeeping" as an important point to evaluate Lewin's contribution,while gradually discarding its academic value given by Lewin,which leads to a tendency to weaken the research about the process of Lewin's ideal dynamics,or even tends to have a depiction of his academic activities and life story instead.In this circumstance,this article makes an attempt to review the idea of "gatekeeping," with tools of Sociology of Knowledge,going back to the social and academic background in which Lewin's thought sparked,to explore the potentially constitutive logic connection between"gatekeeping" and communication theories in the US.In addition,this article also attempts to demonstrate that in spite of the representational process of academic presentation,there is hidden,deep value that often used by researchers unknowingly.This article find that the "gatekeeping" concept trigged a move to disenchantment,in which the newsmaking activities were analyzed to every detail,in the US Communication.Such an observation lasts from analysis of the newsroom to Cultural Study and Political Economy of Communication approaches seeking media power and ideological manipulation.What's more,"gatekeeping" responded to the core of control and management in the US Communication,and improved the approach to study communication effects on practical level,making it dominant in Communication Study in a long period because that it included the most abundant objects,provided the most persuasive argument,and offered the most flawless system structure.It encouraged researchers to think and criticise the social control power which was focused in the value system of the US Communication,while it was bond to the logic of cotrol and management because of the terminologies of Communication that made by itself.With the function of both serving and countering"control",the concept of "gatekeeping" has been going through the logic line of mainstream communication theories in the US.Therefore,this article finds that a review to "gatekeeper" can inspire the review to Lewin's ideological contribution thoroughly.Seeing Lewin's idea from a perspective outside the system of existing communication theories,something similiar to the whole Communication in the US can be found;this is possibly the reason for which Lewin was accepted by scholars like Wilbur Schramm.When the structure of the US Communication and scholars'thoughts are understood connectively and beyond pure theory,the introducing and importing of the US Communication system in this day and age must be considered twice.If the existing knowledge in the US Communication Study is accepted without the hidden core of "social management" which connects key theories and practical achievements,some scholars with great contribution would be improperly positioned,and the effort to build the structure of Chinese Communication Study and Practice would be negatively affected.