Fields and Ecologies

Meso-Level Spatial Approaches and the Study of Journalistic Change

Bibliographic Data

ID7502020
AuthorsWilson Lowrey (0000-0002-4985-7203, University of Alabama, corresponding author), Lindsey Sherrill (0000-0002-4032-7417, University of Alabama)
Year2019
Volume30
Issue3
Pages247-267
Publication date2019-04-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunication Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1050-3293 • E-ISSN: 1468-2885
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ct/qtz003
OpenAlexW2928975957
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited59

Recent writings in the sociology of news (Benson, 2014; Lowrey, 2017; Ryfe, 2017; Shoemaker & Vos, 2009) and in sociology more broadly (Bottero & Crossley, 2011; Fligstein & McAdam, 2012; Liu & Emirbayer, 2016; Martin, 2003; Mohr, 2005) have observed the emergence and spread of “spatial” theoretical approaches at the meso-level. These approaches assume the existence of bounded social spaces situated between the micro-level of individual agency and macro-level structure and power. Spatial approaches take numerous forms—fields, ecologies, worlds, jurisdictions, populations. All have been used in scholarship aimed at explaining change and innovation in media production (e.g., Benson, 2013, 2014; Boyles, 2017; Halpern & Humphreys, 2016; Hartley & Ellersgaard, 2013; Lowrey, 2012; Powers & Vera-Zambrano, 2016; Weber, Fulk, & Monge, 2016). Meso-level spatial approaches are especially appropriate for the study of change across broad, complex social spaces, and the space of journalism production qualifies as broad and complex. These approaches accommodate both structure and agency, stasis and change, and order and disorder. They connect factors and forces across a range of levels, including markets, political systems, media organizations and individual journalists (Ryfe, 2017). Central to these approaches is the partially autonomous meso-level space that buffers and translates external change. This autonomy allows meaningful interaction within the space, which can reaffirm established norms and practices but also foster collective change

Agency (philosophy · Autonomy · Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Scholarship · Situated · Social science · Sociology · Structure and agency · Computer Science · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics · Law

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