This article reviews classic concepts and approaches to journalism studies, in particular the notion of “gatekeeper” which marks the beginning of the American tradition of empirical research on senders, initiated by David White’s study, in 1950. The first section characterises different lines of research on the sociology of news production and points to the pressures and counter-pressures involved, based on the work of two distinguished scholars who adopt different perspectives: Michael Schudson and James Curran. The second reviews the data and criticism on White’s paper, commenting on his motivation, and the context of journalism at that time. It also discusses a synthesis of theories of influences on media content. Finally, the article proposes that such classic concepts and approaches are re-examined for the investigation of the new configurations of journalism in the off-line and on-linenewsrooms.