World Media Economics and Management Conference 2016

This paper explores employment processes in the audiovisual industry. Specifically, it examines how people get in and get on in the UK broadcast television industry (BTI) and discusses career realities for media workers in the industry. It also considers the environmental, personal and employment factors that are informed by established theoretical models of labour economics, human capital, motivation and career development.The study applies a modified version of an empirical analytical interview methodology first used in a longitudinal study applied by the British Film Institute in the 1990s. It provides an analysis of the first set of results from a series of interviews with workers across six job families — production, craft & post, digital, writing, directing and business — that are in common usage in the BTI. Based on this analysis, it then presents a new framework for modelling and evaluating personal development, identifying three significant points of transition that require particular attention by managers and for the individual plotting their career trajectory.It considers the effectiveness of economic labour market theories in explaining the decisions individuals make about their personal investment in education, training and career. It concludes that classic labour market economic models fail to explain the behaviour of those wishing to join the creative industries in general and the BTI in particular.The next stage of the research, the model will be used with international cohorts of media managers to investigate their career strategies and the implications for recruiting to international teams.