ABSTRACT
After the social system-but before the organizational-level of analysis lie many forces outside of the formal media structures themselves. Clearly, the media exist in relationship with other institutional power centers in society, relationships that can be coercive or collusive and can shape media content. The more powerful the parties involved, the more likely they are to enter into a collaborative symbiotic relationship. Theorists such as Castells (2007) conceive of the media as a generalized institutionalized space, with its logic and organization that structures politics. Gamson similarly regards media as a site and “master forum,” on which politics is played out (Ferree, Gamson, Gerhards, & Rucht 2002). As Benson (2004) notes, this media space in these discussions is overly broad, undertheorized, and the variables comprising it not specifi ed as to their interrelationships. This social institutional (formerly extra-media) level of the Hierarchy of Infl uences helps understand the factors affecting that master forum, particularly when directed at the practice of journalism, leading us to understand it as a relatively homogenous social practice, with similar concerns over legitimacy and commercial success.
