Media Gatekeepers and Transparency

PBS has an interesting article on the new media gatekeepers and the need for transparency in the process by which they promote media.  Here is an excerpt:

The problem for these new gatekeepers is that they are providing the old editorial functions, but there’s a key difference between the way they operate and the way that movie critics, music reviewers and video store clerks operate: They are making editorial decisions without telling us who they are, what they like and how they are making those decisions. Otherwise, we will be left to wonder, left to come up with our own conspiracy theories, and we will lose trust in these services.

I believe this need for transparency is true not only for Twitter, Apple and YouTube, but for all types of search, including general web search.  Search engines need to get better at at explaining why results were retrieved, lest users begin losing trust in those engines and/or find themselves ultimately unable to find the information they desire, due to an inability to correctly express their information needs.