Changing imperatives in third sector media and cultural production: a study of news production, documentary film-making and arts and cultural programming

Research on third sector media and cultural organisations has tended to focus on socio-political imperatives in organisational and production processes. However, my
research shows that as socio-political circumstances have gradually changed, other imperatives especially of a professional, artistic and commercial nature now play an
equally important role in these processes in the third sector. The interplay between the different imperatives can be conflicting, pulling producers in different directions.
Moreover, producers can be subjected to systemic pressures such as demands from subsidy, other funders, broadcasters and politics, all of which impact third sector media
and cultural work. Producers respond in ways that have not been sufficiently studied. This thesis aims to address this gap.

Drawing on relevant theoretical perspectives and qualitative research methods, I address three key issues in this thesis. First, I examine the ways in which producers in
the third sector respond to professional, artistic and commercial imperatives alongside socio-political ones in the organisation and production of news, documentary film and arts and cultural programmes. Where the interplay between these imperatives is conflicting, I analyse how producers negotiate between them. Second, I analyse the
response of producers to systemic pressures. Third, I evaluate how producers perceive their work following competing imperatives and systemic pressures.

I argue that the evolving environment in which third sector media and cultural organisations operate in some cases compels producers to prioritise commercial and
professional imperatives over socio-political and artistic ones and to give in to systemic pressures. Based on British and German case study companies, my thesis provides
crucial insights into the interplay between such pressures and competing imperatives in contemporary third sector media and cultural organisation and production.