Audience segmentation and age stratification among television writers

Abstract

In this research, we analyze quantitative longitudinal data on the careers of 8,990 television and film writers to assess whether barriers to career success for older writers have increased in recent years. We detect a substantial shift in age-earnings profiles in favor of younger television writers during an era when programming strategies increasingly targeted younger audiences. We argue that marketing strategies in television that emphasize audience demographics and distinctive features of the business context encourage "typecasting" that creates barriers to career success for older writers. © 2001 Broadcast Education Association.