Drijfveren en Passies in een dichtgetimmerd Raamwerk

Horkheimer and Adorno intended to shock society by introducing the term culture industry, with which they refer to the increasing commodification of cultural products. It became easier to reproduce cultural products, which raised debates about cultural homogenization. This negative view on TV content is caused by a tension between culture and commerce. On the one hand television programs are viewed as cultural products constructing a certain view of our society and from which viewers derive meaning. On the other hand they are considered commercial commodities with which much money is concerned. Several authors such as Bielby & Harrington (2008) and Hesmondhalgh (2007) have reflected on the impact of this tension. However, the impact on the individual actors within the industry has been under-researched. Employing a political economy perspective (both cultural as commercial interest exert influence on the final TV programme) this study focuses on the following research question: How does the tension between culture and commerce influence the way TV concepts are developed for the public as well as for the commercial Dutch television. Ten semi-structured interviews with concept-developers working for acknowledged media companies in The Netherlands such as TALPA Content, Eyeworks, Palm Plus and IDtv were conducted. Also concept-developers working for the Dutch public broadcasters have been interviewed. The method of analysis is based on a grounded theory approach. During the analysis, special attention is paid to the differences between professionals working at media companies specialized in production for commercial broadcasters and public broadcasters. The open attitude from creatives of the Dutch television industry and their willingness to participate in this research helped to trace the motives of concept-developers to work in this unpredictable industry, the downsides of the profession and the personal goals they would like to realize. Empirical evidence shows that the level of commerce indeed influences the way concept-developers exert their profession. To illustrate, a concept-developer working mainly on developing sponsored television, such as ‘Yacht Vision’, sees himself as a creative coloring inside the lines that somebody else has drawn, while others claim to start from scratch with a high level of creative freedom.