Reshaping the Spheres: Gatekeeping as an Ethical Normative Imperative

This theoretical essay argues for reconstituting the normative role of gatekeeping of journalism in a functioning democracy. It contends that in this time of disinformation, misinformation and fake news, the journalist's main normative role should involve gatekeeping all deviant information from the mainstream public sphere. It then articulates why the space inside the sphere of legitimate controversy grew in recent years, and journalists, through gatekeeping, must restore it to its normative ideal.