불안정 창의노동자들의 정체성과 고용형태의 변화: A사 프리랜서 구성작가의 정규직화 과정 사례를 중심으로

This study analyzes the precarity of the scriptwriter, a typical creative worker in the broadcasting industry, and investigates how a local public broadcasting system has adopted a new employment model for scriptwriters through a policy project that internalizes various irregular and outsourced media workers. Drawing on previous studies on the discourse on creativity and the precarity of media workers, we argue that this precarity becomes more severe because of their employment status-that is, freelancing. To examine how the actors react to the decision to hire freelance scriptwriters as employees in order to secure their employment, the paper analyzes semi-structured in-depth interviews with scriptwriters, PDs, and senior managers at the local broadcasting station. At first, the scriptwriters preferred being freelancers to being employees, despite their poorer working conditions. As the new employment model became more plausible within the context of reverse contracting in the public sector, their attitudes have grown a little more hopeful. But the changes have also triggered conflicts between scriptwriters and PDs. Despite these conflicts, the local government, which owns the broadcasting station, devoted its efforts to establishing regular employment practice, eventually making a visible change by finalizing an employment contract with seven assistant writers. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing the precarity of creative workers at various levels, which pushes us to explore the possibility of institutional change that is often overlooked in the structuralist perspective. Moreover, this study brings practical implications: it shows the critical role the public government plays in improving the work conditions and job security of freelancers.