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Precarity and Asymmetries in Media Production: How Freelancers

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Precarity and Asymmetries in Media Production: How Freelancers Precarity and Asymmetries in Media Production: How Freelancers Experience their Working Conditions as Users of Coworking Spaces Laurie Heise 15th June 2018 Malmö University Faculty of Culture and Society K3 - School of Arts and Communications Master’s Programme in Media and Communication Studies: Culture, Collaborative Media, and the Creative Industries One-Year Master’s Thesis (15 Credits) Spring 2018 Supervisor: Per Möller Examiner: Ilkin Mehrabov Abstract This master’s thesis investigates how freelancers experience job precarity and asymmetrical power relations which have been established within the media production industry as well as the relevance and value of coworking spaces providing a workspace with the possibilities of knowledge sharing, networking and community building, as a framework in order to challenge their precarious working conditions. Furthermore, the research aims at examining the participants’ experiences in a qualitative manner to explore those rather new concepts of freelancing and coworking spaces as previous research has failed to address the individual experiences of how freelancers deal with the nature of work in the media production industry. Situated in the context of the structural changes within media production towards a project-based nature of work and the decrease of permanent employment, freelancers are increasingly facing precarious working conditions such as uncertainty and instability. Applying the theory of structure and agency as theoretical framework, it is discussed to what extent freelancers are influenced by the established structures, rules and norms within the media production industry and how their agency is enabled within these structures. Using a qualitative research approach, this study is based on an investigation of the experiences and knowledge of eleven freelancers working in the media production industry and who are users of coworking spaces by the means of semi-structured interviews. In summary, this thesis reveals that the majority of the participants experience asymmetrical power relations and precarity to a high degree. Furthermore, freelancers who seek for communities in order to challenge their precarious working conditions, experience coworking spaces as highly valuable concept in order to increase the possibilities for their individual agency. Having investigated those rather novel concepts, this thesis serves as a starting point for examining further research on freelancers’ individual experiences of their working conditions. Keywords: Freelancing, Media Production Industry, Coworking Spaces, Structuration Theory, Structure and Agency, Job Precarity, Asymmetrical Power Relations II Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................... II Table of Contents .................................................................................................. III Preface ................................................................................................................... V 1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 2. Context: Freelancers in the Field of Media Production ........................... 4 2.1 Structural Changes in the Field of Media Production .................................... 4 2.2 The Nature of Work in the Media Production Industry .................................. 6 2.3 The Emergence of a Sharing Economy ........................................................ 7 2.4 Creative Clusters: Why Place Still Matters .................................................... 8 3. Literature Review ...................................................................................... 11 3.1 The Field of Freelance Work ....................................................................... 11 3.1.1 The Concept of Freelance Work ................................................................. 11 3.1.2 The Enterprising-Self ................................................................................... 13 3.1.3 Asymmetrical Power Relations .................................................................... 14 3.2 Coworking and Coworking Spaces ............................................................. 15 3.2.1 The Concept of Coworking & Coworking Spaces ....................................... 16 3.2.2 Co-presence as Chance for Encounters ..................................................... 17 3.2.3 The Ambivalence of Coworking ................................................................... 18 3.3 Summary of Literature and Research Gap .................................................. 19 4. Theoretical Framework ............................................................................. 21 5. MethodoloGy .............................................................................................. 27 5.1 Semi-Structured Interviews ......................................................................... 28 5.1.1 Sampling ..................................................................................................... 28 5.1.2 Conducting the Interviews ........................................................................... 32 5.2 Thematic Analysis ....................................................................................... 32 5.3 Ethical Implications ...................................................................................... 34 5.4 Validity ......................................................................................................... 35 6. Presentation and Analysis of FindinGs ................................................... 36 6.1 How Structural Changes Affect Freelancers ............................................... 36 6.2 How Freelancers Use Coworking Spaces ................................................... 41 6.3 How Different Structures Enable Different Agencies ................................... 47 6.4 How Freelancers Deal With Asymmetrical Power Relations ....................... 49 7. Conclusion ................................................................................................. 56 III References ............................................................................................................ 58 Appendix ............................................................................................................... 64 IV Preface Studying Media and Communication studies means discussing emerging phenomena in the media industry, exploring different types of media and all these interesting platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and so forth. Then why choosing a topic for this master’s thesis that at first glance seems a bit ambivalent or even pessimistic? For me, studying Media and Communication studies also means to critically examine the constantly shifting landscape of the media industry with both their positive and negative aspects. Often, the focus either lies on the organisations within the media industries or the consumers of the media products. I want to focus on those who do not find protection within the structures of big media organisations and who are left to rely on themselves: freelancers who work in the media production industry. I have been working as a freelancer for years. Though, what you will read later in this thesis, it would be regarded as false freelancer – a freelancer who would only work for one employer, but would not be employed with a contract. This is only one aspect of evidence for the structural changes within the media industry which increase the precarious working conditions for freelancers. Therefore, the overall aim of this thesis was to explore how real freelancers experience their working conditions and the labour market situation within the media production industry as users of coworking spaces. Accordingly, this thesis is dedicated to tackle unawareness and therefore to create awareness and more recognition for freelancers who on one hand have greatest flexibility and freedom in their work, but on the other hand have to face and deal with a sometimes highly precarious nature of work. I would like to thank all of the participants from all over the world who allowed me to interview them for this master’s thesis. Thank you, for taking the time and sharing your experiences with me. Without your help, I would have not been able to conduct this research. V 1. Introduction Freelancers are widely known as those working from home or in coffee shops, as those with endless free time and flexibility, but also as those struggling over money, working isolated and living in constant uncertainty – the debate around freelancers is a controversial issue discussed in the society as well as within the media industry. In contrast to these stereotypes, the freelance workforce has established itself as a permanent and crucial part of the media industries (Mould, Vorley & Liu, 2014). The main factors for the emergence of the freelance workforce were structural changes and economic cutbacks in the media industry towards more flexibility for organisations and less stability for individuals (Edstrom & Ladendorf, 2012). Developing out of these rather precarious circumstances, we have now reached an era where freelance work is often considered as a self-fulfilling occupation which provides a high level of autonomy and flexibility (Bögenhold, Heinonen & Akola, 2014). As opposed to the notion of self-fulfilment, some scholars perceive the whole freelance workforce as precariat – considering
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