Leadership and Ethics in Media Production

Introduction

Ethics has been a heavily contested topic in discussions about leadership. This article aims to explore this concept in relation to the media production landscape (Film, Broadcast and Video Production), the theories and case studies in the industry, as well as practical application and insights.

Theoretical schools of thought on ethics

There are generally two approaches on ethics: -

Teleological, which dictates that the end result would constitute to whether the action was deemed good or bad. If good, then it would be right. If bad then wrong, regardless of rules or guidelines in effect (Chakrabarty et al., 2015, p. 3).

Deontological, on the other hand, emphasises on the strict observance of rules and guidelines regardless of the consequences (Vitolina et al., 2016, p. 108-114). What is right is decided by the adherence to rules rather than the consequence of the action.

Leadership structure in Media Production

What is special about media production lies in its unique power structure, which falls into 3 main roles (Clevé, 2006, p. 1-12):-

Executive Producer - Controller of Finance and budget. Has the power to greenlight projects. Represents the studios’ interest and has influence in the overall direction of production.

Producer - Ideator and overall in charge of overall production and schedules.

Director - In charge of creative vision and calls the shots on location (Even the producer who hires him to the project “reports” to him on set).

The interplay of these roles dictates the production culture that exists during production. According to Hofstede, values, attitudes and behaviours will cascade from this top leadership (Fang, 2009, p. 157).

Common Ethical issues in Media Production (with case studies)

The Media Production Landscape relies on professional freelance crew with an established system of working paradigms with specific roles, rules and regulations. This ensures the safety and rights of the freelance community. However, the objectives of the producers tend to lean towards bigger, better, faster and cheaper. Failures in ethical leadership results in the following:-

1. Compromised safety standards resulting in injury and death.

According to Johnson’s article (2022), a train accident caused by negligence resulted in the death of a camera assistant Sarah Jones on the set of “Midnight Rider”. Director Randall Miller was jailed for trespassing and involuntary manslaughter. In a bid to get the best angle and production value, safety was compromised that resulted in death.

2. Media freelancers not being paid on time.

Media companies are made up of creatives that are often not trained in cash flow management. According to Ong (2019), late payments are a common phenomenon in the freelance media industry. A common excuse that is given is that “The client has not paid yet”. This is a clear example of unethical leadership, where the rights of freelancers under employment are violated. The media companies will inherit poor reputation, and as a result, good freelancers who will avoid working for them.

A Model of Ethical Leadership

According to Bill Grace (1998), he proposes the 4-V model of Ethical Leadership, which champions the following concepts:-

Value - The leader’s idea of what is right or wrong.

Vision - Framing the outcome and actions with others in mind.

Voice - To be able to communicate and motivate others.

Virtue - Knowing that we become what we practice.

Examples of Ethical Leadership in the Media Production Industry

There are not many positive examples of ethical leadership online as only negative ones make the headlines.

One good example can be found in the production of the original Star Wars trilogy. George Lucas, a young filmmaker at the time, was able to lead with the creative vision that was revolutionary and push traditional boundaries (and broken new grounds and rules), shared a common vision, trusted the creative talents of his FX crew, the editor (his then wife, Marcia Lucas) with a shoe string budget of $11 million to create one of the greatest films of all time. There was no complaint or news of wrongdoing or bad blood during and after production. Proof of ethical (4-V) leadership in play with great results.

Insights and recommendations

Media and film production is a complex business with many moving parts. An ethical leader has the daunting task of understanding the intricacies of all parties involved and to make good by them and not to sacrifice all for the ultimate goal of the "perfect" production. Some rules can be changed to streamline the process, but guidelines regarding safety and payment terms have to be strictly adhered to. This will ensure that talented crew will continue working with what will be an ethical and ultimately successful organisation with good ethical leadership.

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References

Chakrabarty, D., Stråth, B., Koskenniemi, M., Subrahmanyam, S., & Trüper, H. (Eds.). (2015). Historical Teleologies in the Modern World. Bloomsbury Academic.

Clevé, B. (2006). Film Production Management. Elsevier/Focal Press.

Fang, T. (2009, March). Asian management research needs more self-confidence: Reflection on Hofstede (2007) and beyond. Asian Pacific Journal of Management, 27(1), 155-170. DOI:10.1007/s10490-009-9134-7

Grace, B., & Grace, W. J. (1998). Ethical Leadership: In Pursuit of the Common Good. Center for Ethical Leadership.

Johnson, N. (2022, January 20). Major Accidents That Happened on the Set of a Film. Stacker. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://stacker.com/stories/27764/major-accidents-happened-set-film

Ong, T. (2019, January 14). Lady complains about those in S'pore who pay freelancers late, gets suggestions. Mothership.SG. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://mothership.sg/2019/01/freelancers-paid-late-how-to-solve-problem/

Vitolina, I., Cals, I., & Sumilo, E. (2016). Is Ethics Rational? Teleological, Deontological and Virtue Ethics Theories Reconciled in the Context of Traditional Economic Decision Making. Procedia Economics and Finance, 39(2016), 108-114.