Is it possible to work in the media without 'playing the game'?

[monkeytrousers]

I went to a media do on Friday and it was so depressing. Really can you have a fulfilling job in the media without being a tosser or having to work with tossers at least?

MT..there are tossers in every job...

There are lots of non-tosser MNers who work in the meeeeeeeeeja, I think. Personally.

Oh I know but it seems to be a prerequisite in this area. I know it's seen as a really privaleged job and therefore theres alot of smugness goes with the territory but..I'm going to sound like a tosser here..I got out of acting cos it was such a souless experience. The 'art' side of it was completely stamped on by the marketing side, especially with telly work. Casting agents assumed you wanted the job whatever it was just because that's what actors do now, want to be on the telly. You were looked at like a freak if you actually asked for details of what an audition was for and refused like I did once for a macdonalds audition cos I'm a veggie. Now with wrting epople automatically assume if you write for TV you must have a feature film somewhere or that if you want to work in film that you'll do anything. It's all a conduit for fame, not work for it's own sake. Am I making sense? Oh, I'm just deluded. Sorry to rant on!

I must say I worked for a TV prod co for a while and hated it, so many tossers (a few nice people too but tbh most of them were just so unbearably full of themselves, shallow and self obsessed)

I was shocked, had expected it to be fun.

V V glad that I don't have to do it any more

Oddly though I have plenty of nice friends who work in it so maybe I was just unlucky

All mumsnetter mediatypes are excluded from this generalisation of course! Competition is very tight in the north east so I think that's got something to do with it (not that it isn't tight anywhere else but you know what I mean)(I hope)

That whole 'work as a conduit for fame' afflicts a great many people now though doesn't it?

I would prefer to be guillotined in small slices from the feet up than be famous

Yes! i don't want to be famous, just do someting fulfilling and good!

Countess Dracula - snap!
your post could have been written by me!

• though when I was doing tv workin Cardiff there were many more tossers than when I was doing it in N Wales - they seem to think they've 'arrived' in the media down there, how v v sad

sweeping generlisation, but generally v shallow kind of work
I used to hate having to persuade people to do things on telly that I would never ever ever do myself - the insincerity and manipulative nature of tv got me down (+ long hours, macho culture, lots of thickos who think they are Steven Spielberg etc)

it is true, lockets, that techies were generally more down to earth, like you say
still, they too work appallingly long hours to help produce bad derivative tat (mostly)

what's your dh's job?

aha! I can see him concentrating on listening and twiddling knobs furiously while having the luxury of being able to ignore awful actual content of the programme - lucky him!

i was one of the poncey office workers (assistant prod)
never say never, but wiuldn't really want to go back to it atm
i'm a translator now

When I ran press offices, I have to say it was TV researchers who tended to be most up themselves.

translating pays even less!!!!
at least you get to use your brain though, and working from home is good for me atm

I work with the meeedja! I work in PR so work with national newspapers, TV shows, radio, magazines etc.

I'm just me, I am who I am, don't play any games, come across the odd tosser, but met a lot more tossers when I worked in fashion.

I think I know what you mean MT - the stereotypical media types. But my brothers girlfriend is a TV producer and she is as far away from being a tosser as you can be - she is lovely.

And I know WMF is not a tosser!

And I know WMF is not a tosser!