Creative industries policy and practice. a study of BBC Scotland and Scottish Screen

This thesis examines creative industries policy in film and television in Scotland. It explores the impact that different approaches to creative industries policy have on creative practice in two media industries, BBC Scotland and Scottish Screen, and reflects on how each of these bodies articulates its role as a „national‟ institution. BBC Scotland is the Scottish branch of the UK‟s largest public service broadcaster, while Scottish Screen exists on a far smaller scale, to serve the screen industries in Scotland. The thesis examines the role of BBC Scotland in sustaining the creative economy and contributing to the cultural life of Scotland. The study of Scottish Screen examines a key early aim of the agency, that of establishing a national film studio. The work investigates the connections between UK and Scottish levels of creative industries policy in light of the debates over the future of public service broadcasting and the Scottish Executive‟s cultural policy framework. The study outlines how ideas of cultural creativity and its economic significance have developed, charts how these ideas have affected policy debate, and explores the extent to which devolution has affected film and television policy. By mapping the historical, sociological and political terrain, the research analyses the specificity of Scotland within the UK context and explores areas in which ideas of „the national‟ become problematic. In order to investigate how policy has impacted on the production of creative goods, a further three case studies are explored. These are the feature film Red Road (Arnold, 2006), an independent production company called The Comedy Unit, and a BBC Scotland television series, River City (BBC, 2002-date). The work concludes with an examination of the impact of contemporary policy developments, including the establishment of Creative Scotland and the Scottish Broadcasting Commission.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

PhD

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Glasgow

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Hibberd, Lynne A.

• PN1990 Broadcasting
• PN1993 Motion Pictures

Language dc:language

en