The Media and Social Theory

Abstract

Any division of cultural industry labor-whether local, national, or global-is defined not just by an allocation of tasks and responsibilities but also by the varying working conditions within that system. “Working conditions” does not refer here simply to the degree of comfort or satisfaction one experiences at film and television work (is it too cold or too hot, can I go to the bathroom when I choose, are the rules and expectations clear, are my co-workers and supervisors kind or cruel, do I exercise my creative capacities in my work, and so on). The term also refers to political and economic aspects of work including remuneration, control of the work process, ownership of the products of labor, the rights and obligations of employers and workers, and workers’ access to health and pension benefits.Thus there are two broad, interrelated but analytically distinguishable sets of concerns-subjective and structural-involved in studying media production labor: the social-psychological experience of work on the one hand, and its political-economic conditions and organization on the other.

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