Production Line TV

Labor and Process in Factual Television Production

Abstract

A growing body of research is investigating media production and the conditions of cultural work. However, there have been few attempts to apply Harry Braverman’s claims about labor under capitalism to this field (Sonn et al., 2019). In fact, there have been calls to reject his perspective and the labor process theory it inspired as deterministic, neglecting workers’ subjectivity and agency (Ursell, 2000). Nevertheless, continuing attempts to rationalise media production have created notable similarities to Braverman’s observations, prompting a re-examination of his arguments in a cultural industries context.

In this article we focus on the production of unscripted factual television programming in the UK and investigate the consequences of recent reorganization of the production process and its related changes in the division of labour and occupational roles for the experience of work. Our argument is based on semi-structured interviews with practitioners at the beginning and the end of the production process, namely, self-shooting Producer-Directors, who capture raw footage on location, and Edit Producers, who edit the footage into the final program. This approach enabled us to examine the impact of reorganization on different work roles and in different production stages.

Based on our findings, we argue for the persistent validity of Braverman’s claims about alienation and exploitation in relation to process albeit with differences in nature and scale. We do not deny the specificity of cultural production as a form of work but, drawing on our research in the British television industry, we argue that while the general principles for work under capitalism, as outlined by Braverman, can be observed in cultural production contexts, they materialize in distinct ways. We further argue that this impact is not challenged but heightened by the conditions workers face in the contemporary flexible labour market.

References:

Sonn, J.W., Hess, M. & Wang, H. 2019. Spaces for creativity? Skills and deskilling in cultural and high-tech industries. Geoforum, 99, 223–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.09.015

Ursell, G. 2000. Television production: issues of exploitation, commodification and subjectivity in UK television labour markets. Media, Culture & Society, 22, no. 6, 805–825. https://doi.org/10.1177/016344300022006006