Emily Coleman is a Postdoctoral Fellow at King’s College London, whose research into documentary production and the cultural industries has been supported by both the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the Economic & Social Research Council. Previously, she worked in the TV industry for over 15 years, producing and directing factual programmes and documentaries for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and SKY. She will soon publish her book The People We Watch (Routledge, 2025), which explores the perspective of participants, and considers how their experiences are impacted by their relationships with filmmakers and the political-economic context of the media industries.

Selected publications

Coleman, E. (2023). The Wellbeing of Ordinary People in Factual Television Production.’ Media, Culture and Society. DOI: 10.1177/01634437231155
Coleman, E. (2023). ‘The Work of Documentary Relationships.’ European Journal of Cultural Studies. DOI: 10.1177/13675494231208501
Coleman, E. (2025). ‘Exploitation and Documentary Contributors.’ In Piotrowska A (ed.) The Ethics of Documentary Film. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Coleman, E. (2025). The People We Watch. London: Routledge

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> ZDOK.25-presentation: The People We Watch: Documentary Contributors and What their Experiences Tell Us About the Cultural Industries