By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, Feb 25 2000 (IPS)

The changes in the media and entertainment industries arising from today’s new technologies are irreversible, and have had a major impact on jobs and working conditions, says a new study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Under the premise that the information society is here to stay, the ILO studied the transformations in those industries, caused by the generalised incorporation of digitalised technology throughout the 1990s.

The new technologies have influenced the composition and structure of labour in the media and entertainment industries, while signicantly modifying working conditions and forms of work, the report points out.

The ILO also states that the situation of workers in those industries has substantially improved, especially in recent years, although it is a relatively new phenomenon.

The report points out that information and communication technologies will affect all jobs in the medium-term.

The study, drawn up for a Feb 28-Mar 3 symposium on information technologies at ILO headquarters in Geneva, adds that further innovations in the revolutionary new technologies are expected.

The new information technologies, along with the phenomena of globalisation, privatisation, multimedia convergence, restructuring and mergers and acquisitions, have transformed the media and entertainment industries.

But while the changes have had an enormous effect on industrialised countries, they have been felt to a much lesser degree in developing countries, says the report.

On one hand, the technologies have offered new, and frequently very different, jobs, particularly for those involved in the creative areas of the industries.

The process has also given rise to new products, new forms of work and new occupations, while boosting productivity and technical quality.

But at the same time, the new technologies have led to a reduction in the number of jobs in some areas.

The ILO says the situation in developing countries often differs considerably from conditions in industrialised countries, offering greater possibilities for change in the future. Given that situation, the ILO – which is comprised of representatives of governments, business and labour – recommends a case-by-case analysis of conditions in each country.

ILO Director-General Juan Somavía, a Chilean national, warns of the possibility of a “digital gap” as the technological distance between rich and poor countries grows.

He added that facilitating access to Internet is perhaps the best and cheapest way to spread the benefits of globalisation to developing countries.

With respect to women, the ILO was unable to make a clear assessment of the effects of technologies on their employment situation in the media and entertainment business.

Although the document says the impact seems to have improved women’s opportunities in some areas, the information available is too anecdotal to allow reliable conclusions to be reached.

But one area of activity, journalism, is providing increasing professional opportunities for women, who have been among the first to benefit from the emergence of a new labour market in the media, says the report.

It adds that there are more women journalists than ever in Britain, for example. A 1998 study cited by the ILO found that women under 35 working in newspapers earned an average annual salary of 32,000 pounds, compared to their male colleagues’ average salary of 25,000 pounds.

In the case of the broadcast media, satellite and cable technologies enable many more channels to be picked up in many different countries at the same time, often in foreign languages.

All of these factors, says the ILO, have had a major impact on advertising, competition, programming and staffing, as well as on language and culture, in radio and television stations.

The International Federation of Actors (FIA) reports that satellite and cable programming tends to be based on TV re-runs, foreign programmes, sports and movies, which means there has been little new investment in original productions by cable and satellite companies.

Thus, with the possible exception of the United States, Canada and Australia, employment opportunities for performers are not much different than prior to the spread of cable and satellite broadcasting systems.

However, many new opportunities have been opened up for reporters, technicians, producers and presenters, the report adds.

Delegates of labour, business and governments from 40 countries will take part in next week’s “Symposium on Information Technologies in the Media and Entertainment Industries: Their Impact on Employment, Working Conditions and Labour-management Relations.”

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