Cultural Mediators and Gatekeepers

The shaping influence of cultural mediators, in particular their legitimizing power, has led cultural scholars to coin them ‘tastemakers,’ ‘gatekeepers,’ ‘surrogate consumers,’ ‘reputational entrepreneurs,’ or even ‘coproducers’ of the work of art. Yet, in practice, mediators perform highly different and often distinct activities according to their particular contributions in the (increasingly) vertically differentiated process of cultural production. This article discusses the various roles and activities of cultural mediators, followed by a review of the role and impact of critics and other mediators in the production and consumption of culture.