That’s Entertainment: Crafting a Creative Ecology within Public Television

ABSTRACT Television has gone through a period of rapid disruption in the last few years. New technologies, increased globalization, shifting demographics, and evolving consumer demand have impelled widespread change to business models. Consequently, Broadcasters have been forced to re-examine their approaches to creativity and ideation including capacities and enabling methods. Following analysis of recorded interviews with key personnel behind three recent television productions a better understanding of the cultural ecology surrounding creativity was developed. Findings emphasized the decisive influence that internal sense of community, tacit realization practices, and quality leadership – all working together – play in delivering a distinctive production to a mass-market media audience.