21 4.2 Gatekeepers

We’ve already introduced the concept of the “gatekeepers” and their importance in the message creation process.  At the start of an information task, the most important audience might be the organizational gatekeeper who will give you an assignment and who you must please with your work. Journalists will want to keep the editor in mind as they set out to define the parameters of the assignment and strategic communicators will need to be sure they understand what their boss needs. Researching these “audiences” will be an on-the-job task and can require a clear conversation to clarify the assignment as discussed in Lesson 3. The gatekeepers’ concern is that the message is constructed in such a way that the goal of the communication is accomplished.