What is it like to work in the media? Are media jobs more ‘creative’ than those in other sectors? This book explores these issues in the creative industries, using a combination of original research and a synthesis of existing studies.

1. Introduction: Can Creative Labour be Good Work? Part 1 2. A Model of Good and Bad Work 3. The Specificity of Creative Labour Part 2 4. The Management of Autonomy, Creativity and Commerce 5. Pay, Hours, Security, Involvement, Esteem and Freedom 6. Creative Careers, Self-Realisation and Sociality 7. Emotional and Affective Labour 8. Creative Products, Good and Bad 9. Audiences, Quality and the Meaning of Creative Work 10. The Politics of Good and Bad Work. Bibliography. Appendix: The Interviews

‘A major new study of creative labour. This is an important book that will become a classic in the field. Required reading for anyone interested in the nature, experience and quality of work in the media and cultural industries.’ – Rosalind Gill, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, King’s College London, UK 'This will be a model for others to emulate, in its clarity of thought and expression, thoroughness of analysis, and respect for the particularities of the lives it explores. I can only hope that it receives ample flattery of imitation by inspiring others to follow in its footsteps.’ – Larry Gross, Professor and Director, The Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, University of Southern California 'Anyone interested in the so-called creative or cultural industries will find this book essential reading.' – Peter Golding, Professor and Pro-Vice Chancellor, Northumbria University, UK ‘Hesmondhalgh and Baker’s thorough and intelligent analysis of the nature and experience of work in television, magazine publishing and music, draws-out the characteristic features and the ambiguities of work inherent in these segments of the economy. Their close examination of the meaning of "good" and "bad" work takes the discussion onto another plane and makes the book of wide contemporary relevance across the economy as a whole.’ – John Storey, Professor of Human Resource Management at The Open University Business School, UK "Creative Labour is ambitious in scope and depth, rewarding the careful reader with a dazzling range of accounts of the daily working lives of ‘creatives’. Most compelling are the authors’ political commitments, commitments they re-state as the book ends. Hesmondhalgh and Baker ponder the possibilities of the spreading of the rewards of ‘good’ creative labour far beyond the cultural industries, noting that their investigation is as much about social justice as it is about individual experience and satisfaction at work." – Cultural Sociology