Media stakeholders’ perceptions of interpreting in multilingual TV/Radio production: Inter-professional collaboration in context

Abstract

This article explores inter-professional collaboration in multilingual TV/radio production by focusing on media stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences of working with interpreters, and their bearing on the final broadcasting of interpreting on TV and radio. A mixed method approach is followed, consisting of qualitative analysis of video-recorded semi-structured interviews with stakeholders (broadcasters, producers, camera and sound operators and editors) involved in the production of two original broadcasts by Spanish State and Regional Andalusian Broadcasting companies, covering the Fourth Cines del Sur Film Festival (2010) in Granada. The analysis focuses on production-related issues and audience-oriented collaboration between stakeholders and interpreters. It is then corroborated with the original broadcasts of the two programmes and unbroadcast footage of off-air interactions with interpreters and the interpreter-mediated interviews. Drawing on the notions of “broad” and “narrow” context, the study demonstrates that inter-professional collaboration, and that the different degrees of knowledge integration across media and interpreting fields of knowledge ultimately shape the ways in which interpreting is performed and broadcast.