The theme of Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran's lecture is the relative powerlessness of the creative workers (writers, producers and directors) – ‘the talent’ – in television and the other creative industries. Establishing an independent production company provides writers with creative control over their work but even independent producers can end up being treated as little more than ‘a glorified freelance at the mercy of the market’ without ownership and distribution rights over programmes. It is still preferable, however, to working directly for a broadcaster such as the BBC or ITV which often involves being ‘under-respected, under-consulted, [and] under-rewarded’.

In 1989 Marks and Gran established their production company Alomo: their programme credits include Birds of a Feather, Love Hurts and Goodnight Sweetheart. The BBC remains the most important customer for talent, but its attitude towards independent producers remains ‘essentially patronising’ preferring to ‘concentrate their cash, care and chauffeur-driven cars on the front-of-camera talent, soap stars and celebrity chefs’: both the BBC and ITV ‘betray the behind-the-camera talent’. Channel 4 is little better. A creatively liberating partner, Channel 4 drives ‘some of the hardest and cruellest bargains financially’.

At the BBC the problem reflects the fact that creative leaders and their ability to commission work have been undermined by ‘legions of lawyers … and policy unit apparatchiks’. These new ‘gatekeepers’ have little enthusiasm or interest in programming and apply to television ‘the same discipline they would apply to the production of biscuits … Like the Hitler Youth they know no other system.’