Work histories in television

The labour market in Britain's television industry has been transformed in the last 20 years with the emergence of a large freelance workforce and pro liferation of work on short-term contracts. This article uses data from the BFI 'Television Industry Tracking Study', a major longitudinal study of cr eative workers in television carried out between 1994 and 1998. Case studie s of individuals with contrasting work histories are used to compare variat ions within and across age cohorts, to assess the changing set of values of these creative workers, and to explore the variety of coping strategies wh ich they deploy to combat uncertainty.