Orientations of entertainment media workers: entertainment media workers – disrespect and neglect

Abstract

Although entertaining media content is considered to be highly influential on values and norms shared by the recipients, little is known about the orientation and self-perceptions of entertainment media workers conveying these values and norms. This article offers an overview of existing research on TV entertainment workers and concludes that the common stereotype of a primarily commercial orientation cannot be sustained across the board. To underpin this argument results from two exploratory studies with producers and commissioners in five European countries are presented. Besides a market orientation we can also identify a creative, a common welfare and a professional orientation. Combined with information on the work environment and the demographics of the respondents, the orientations are used to develop a typology of producers and commissioners. It turns out that the common stereotype of a solely commercial mindset only applies for the self-perception of non-fiction producers at commercial broadcasters and program buyers, while all other types seem to have a corrective in other orientations.