Professor Helen Wood plenary talk: Care in UK reality TV

Thursday, May 14  |  2:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Hybrid event (in-person & online)

The Centre for Research in Communication and Culture (Loughborough University) is delighted to sponsor this plenary talk: ‘Duty’ as power: bureaucracy, ethics and the relations of care in UK reality television

This is the keynote session of the Communication and Media – Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy (CM-CSSP) Doctoral Researcher Conference at Loughborough University, but is open to non-attendees.

‘Duty’ as power: bureaucracy, ethics and the relations of care in UK reality television

This talk will introduce you to the work of ‘ReCARETV: Reality Television, Working Practices and Duties of Care’ (AHRC) research project investigating care practices in UK reality television. Following a parliamentary inquiry and a consultation, Ofcom added new rules and guidelines around duty of care into the Broadcasting Code in 2021. This research involves interviews with senior executives, commissioners and legal compliance teams at the broadcasters and independent production companies; production staff and freelance crew (from runners, casters to editors); as well as participants of reality television across different types of show, in order to obtain a holistic picture of experiences of care across the industry. This talk will share some of the findings from across the project so far, which point out distinctions between the bureaucratic work of compliance in a regulatory framework, and ethical tensions in working practices and decision-making in production. The research reveals some fault-lines between a corporate response to care as risk management, and an ethical approach to care as a condition of mutual interdependency.

Brockington Building (B111), Loughborough Campus
Online via Teams
Tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1988317222336?aff=oddtdtcreator