ABSTRACT
The efficacy of journalism in performing its role in society, particularly the important role of independent journalism in a democracy discussed in Chapter 19, is impacted by a number of social interactions that influence what can be called the “social construction of journalism.” Beyond internal values, rituals, routines, and practices and beyond the economic, political, and technological contexts of journalism, which are all important as shown in this handbook, journalism is fundamentally shaped and influenced by who journalists talk to—their sources of information and influence (Manning, 2001; Sigal, 1986), as discussed in Chapter 11.
