Innovation and change in Aotearoa New Zealand’s documentary production ecology 2010-2013

© 2014 Dr. Anna Gwendoline JacksonThis thesis presents a detailed analysis of New Zealand’s documentary production ecology during the period 2010 – 2013, focusing on innovation, change and the function(s) of documentary as a creative and cultural industry. ‘Ecology’ as a term in media and cultural studies scholarship is increasingly employed as a means of extending the scope of critical political economy beyond a critique of power dynamics in contemporary capitalist society to acknowledge the complex and multifaceted nature of relations between producers and audiences and the ways that media are produced, circulated and used. The use of the term ‘ecology’ in this context acknowledges the ways that our systems of communication, like those in nature, are not stable or fixed, but are interconnected, evolving and dynamic. Drawing on interviews, observation, practice-led research and analysis of theatrical and television documentary output, the framework of ecology is used to examine the specific conditions of documentary production in New Zealand as a complex media system in relation to global shifts in media production, distribution and use, and aims to identify factors that support or inhibit innovation in the context of New Zealand’s documentary production ecology