Technological University Dublin ARROW@TU Dublin Doctoral Applied Arts 2011-7 Rationalising Public Service: Scheduling as a Tool of Management in RTÉ Television Ann-Marie Murray Technological University Dublin, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/appadoc Part of the Arts Management Commons, Business and Corporate Communications Commons, and the Other Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Murray, A. (2011) Rationalising Public Service: Scheduling as a Tool of Management in RTÉ Television. Doctoral Thesis, Technological University Dublin. doi:10.21427/D70307 This Theses, Ph.D is brought to you for free and open access by the Applied Arts at ARROW@TU Dublin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral by an authorized administrator of ARROW@TU Dublin. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License Rationalising Public Service: Scheduling as a Tool of Management in RTÉ Television Ann-Marie Murray This thesis is submitted to the Dublin Institute of Technology in Candidature for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2011 School of Media Faculty of Applied Arts Supervisor: Dr. Edward Brennan Abstract Developments in the media industry, notably the increasing commercialisation of broadcasting and deregulation, have combined to create a television system that is now driven primarily by ratings. Public broadcast organisations must adopt novel strategies to survive and compete in this new environment, where they need to combine public service with popularity. In this context, scheduling has emerged as the central management tool, organising production and controlling budgets, and is now the driving force in television. Located within Weber’s theoretical framework of rationalisation, this study analyses the rise of scheduling as part of a wider organisational response to political and economic pressures. It is based on a longitudinal analysis of the RTÉ television schedules and interviews with key personnel involved in scheduling. The analysis tracks changes in programme output between 1990 and 2005, a period of fundamental change in the Irish broadcast landscape. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with producers and senior management from RTÉ Television provide an insight into the constraints, dilemmas and choices at the centre of programme scheduling. The dissertation argues that scheduling has been transformed from a marginal administrative function to a highly rationalised organisational system. It functions as a strategic management tool, enhancing competitiveness, cost efficiency and accountability. This is a practical and reasonable response to the demands of increasing competition and political pressure for efficiency and accountability. However, this dissertation considers whether the ‘means’ adopted in such survival strategies are in fact incompatible with the 'ends' of public service broadcasting. Declaration I certify that this thesis which I now submit for examination for the award of Doctor of Philosophy is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others, save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. This thesis was prepared according to the regulations for postgraduate study by research of the Dublin Institute of Technology and has not been submitted in whole or in part for another award in any Institute. The work reported on in this thesis conforms to the principles and requirements of the Institute's guidelines for ethics in research. The Institute has permission to keep, lend or copy this thesis in whole or in part, on condition that any such use of the material of the thesis be duly acknowledged. Signature __________________________________ Date _______________ Candidate Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have seen the light of day without the help of a great many people. I owe many thanks. Firstly, I wish to thank my research participants for sharing their experiences and insights. I would like to acknowledge the generous support of the School of Media and the Graduate Research Office during my time at DIT. In particular, I wish to thank Brian O’Neill for his advice and assistance. Thanks to the Aungier Street library staff and the technical and administrative staff in the School of Media for all their help. I am very grateful to Wolfgang Treutzschler for his encouragement and support in the early phase of the research. Above all, I am indebted and sincerely thankful to my supervisor, Eddie Brennan, for his dedication, guidance and motivation. I want to thank my colleagues and friends, who provided advice, inspiration, distraction and consolation: Cliona, Katie, Sally, Anthony, Darcy, Fiona, Kevina, Daire, Roz and especially Orla. Thanks also to Ciarán and Bryan for their help and advice concerning the schedule analysis. Lastly, I wish to thank my family. I am forever grateful to my parents for their advice and encouragement and for supporting my education from the very beginning. I owe my deepest gratitude to my husband, Ross, for his support, patience, and hot dinners through the years. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION: SCHEDULING PUBLIC SERVICE - POLICY AND PRACTICE IN THE EUROPEAN BROADCAST SECTOR ........................................................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER ONE: SCHEDULING - FROM INFORMAL PRACTICE TO RATIONALISED SYSTEM ................ 10 SOCIAL CHANGE IN IRELAND ................................................................................................................... 11 THE CELTIC TIGER ................................................................................................................................. 13 TELEVISION AND FAMILY LIFE .................................................................................................................. 15 THE ORIGINS OF THE FAMILY MODEL ....................................................................................................... 19 SCHEDULING IN A CHANGING SOCIETY ...................................................................................................... 24 CHANGES IN VIEWING PRACTICES: FRAGMENTATION ................................................................................... 27 CHANGES IN VIEWING PRACTICES: TECHNOLOGY ........................................................................................ 29 COMPETITIVE SCHEDULING..................................................................................................................... 33 COMMERCIALISATION OF BROADCASTING ................................................................................................. 36 SCHEDULING AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL ................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER TWO: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TELEVISION SCHEDULING ....................................... 43 MODES OF ORGANISATION PRE-1970S .................................................................................................... 43 STATE PROVISION OF BROADCASTING ....................................................................................................... 46 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC BROADCAST INSTITUTIONS ............................................................. 50 POST-1970S ECONOMY ........................................................................................................................ 54 FLEXIBLE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES .................................................................................................. 58 SERVICE INDUSTRIES ............................................................................................................................. 60 INTERNATIONALISATION ......................................................................................................................... 61 GLOBAL MEDIA INDUSTRIES ................................................................................................................... 63 RE-REGULATION OF BROADCASTING ......................................................................................................... 66 PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING IN A MARKET SYSTEM................................................................................ 73 IN PURSUIT OF ‘EFFICIENCY’ ................................................................................................................... 77 CHAPTER THREE: SCHEDULING AND RATIONALISATION - A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............... 78 WEBER AND RATIONALISATION ............................................................................................................... 79 RATIONAL ACTION ................................................................................................................................ 81 ECONOMIC ACTION .............................................................................................................................. 84 THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF VALUE-FREE ACTION ................................................................................................ 86 THE PUBLIC SERVICE RATIONALITY ........................................................................................................... 89 THE ‘PARADOX