Santana, Arthur D. "Controlling the conversation: The availability of commenting forums in online newspapers." Journalism studies 17.2 (2016): 141-158.

This research examines how online newspaper sites manage reader commenting forums, highlighting the shift of some gatekeeping responsibilities from journalists to commenters, who decide what content appears alongside news articles. To maintain civility and protect their brand identity, newspapers implement strategies to reduce incivility, such as prohibiting anonymity or disallowing forums entirely. This study investigates the extent to which news topics influence the presence of commenting forums. Analyzing 2,100 news stories from 50 US newspapers, the findings reveal that controversial stories are more likely to be published without a commenting forum compared to non-controversial stories, indicating a new dimension in newspapers' agenda-setting abilities.