Reflexions d'un 'gatekeeper'. La informació assetjada

Abstract

This paper seeks to establish a sort ofcatalog of"sieges" which limit the freedom of information in the publications of the mass media. This idea presupposes that this freedom is a limited freedom and that professionals have to confront, inevitably, a series ofconflicts in their daily professional activity. The public discourse of the profession is diametrically opposed to that which journalists hold in private. Revealing this reality is the intention of a future doctoral thesis, of which this paper is the embryonic form. The findings herein are based on the personal experience of the author, who has been editor, head ofdepartment and editor-in-chiefof three newspapers in Barcelona. The spirit of the paper is not to show a hopeless landscape. On the contrary, despite all the obstacles, journalists have contributed a great deal to the construction of a democratic society.