Professional Ideology and Program Conventions: Documentary Development in Independent British Television Production

Abstract

This article addresses the development process of documentary programs in British television broadcasting and explores how production factors influence the creation of television documentaries. It focuses on the power of the producer to select and present media content and asks how the power relations within the broadcaster–publisher system impact on content and form of new program ideas. It is specifically interested in the negotiation of decision-making processes during the development stage prior to commission, asking how and why specific content is selected for development. Based on the results of an ethnographic study in an independent production company, four program conventions are described that are conditional for the selection of new project ideas. Combined with economic pressures and independents' limited potential for agency, these professional conventions facilitate the reproduction of the familiar over variation.

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