Beyond textual fidelity: Creator interactions, professional boundaries and cultural hierarchies in Israel's youth media adaptation system.

This article examines adaptation processes within Israel’s youth media system by focusing on the professional interactions between television screenwriters and book authors. Using polysystem theory and a media systems integration model, the study reveals that adaptations are shaped by a balance of professional flexibility—allowing creative autonomy and collaboration—and conceptual rigidity, which preserves core narrative elements. It identifies a cultural hierarchy where adaptations from books to television are valued as culturally and educationally enriching, while adaptations from television to books are viewed by creators primarily as commercial merchandising with limited artistic merit. The research highlights how, in this marginal media system with minimal institutional intermediaries, cultural value and adaptation outcomes emerge from direct creator negotiations rather than predetermined frameworks, contributing to adaptation theory by emphasizing production contexts and creator relationships.