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NEW
MEDIA TECHNOLOGY
CONCEPT
MEDIA CONVERGENCE
On the one
hand, convergence can be viewed as ‘coming together of different equipment and
tools for producing and distributing news’ (ibid.). Jenkins (2006:3), on the
other hand, defines convergence as ‘flow of content across multiple media
platforms’, suggesting that media audiences nowadays play a crucial role in
creating and distributing content, and convergence therefore has to be examined
in terms of social, as well as technological changes within the society.
According to Jenkins, media convergence is an ongoing process that should not
be viewed as a displacement of the old media, but rather as interaction between
different media forms and platforms
one of the areas of particular concern when examining positive and negative consequences of media convergence is media ownership (Jenkins, 2006). Nowadays the power to control media industry is concentrated in the hands of private owners and relatively small number of big media corporations. For example, companies, such as Warner Bros., which used to focus on the film industry, nowadays have control over various aspects of entertainment industry in general, such as computer games, books, magazines, web sites and toys, which is all part of the process of media convergence (Jenkins, 2006). Consequences of this trend can be viewed as both positive and negative. On the one hand, it may cause the decline in the diversity of material offered and result in a tendency that voices of those lacking economic power will not be taken into account (Branston et al., 2008:179). On the other hand, it is argued that market driven media owned and controlled by big media corporations ‘can actually improve the value of the service, the flexibility of topics and the competence of the contributers’ as well as enable technological developments, change the elitism of media professionals and create new general awareness (Grant, 2009). Another aspect of media convergence that can be seen as its major drawback is what Jenkins (2006:23) calls the ‘participation gap’. This concept refers to the fact that while media convergence in general has encouraged audiences to participate in the process of content creation, it requires extended access to modern technologies, familiarity with the new forms of media, as well as developing certain skills (ibid.). As a result, certain segments of the audience arguably remain neglected and unable to fully participate in the new media culture.
Drawing on the definitions of media convergence outlined above, it can be argued that one of the ways of understanding media convergence is in terms of interaction between old and new forms of media. This concept can be explained more clearly using the example of television industry and its development over the years. The idea of transition from analogue media to digital media stands at the core of media convergence debate. The term ‘analogue’ is used to describe something ‘that resembles something else’ (Dewdney and Ride, 2006:227), therefore signals transmitted through television can be seen as being analogous to the light and sound of the actual scene (ibid.). In the case of analogue media, each form was separate and independent from the others due to the need to use different ‘materials, properties and apparatuses’ (ibid.). With the introduction of digital code however the situation changed rapidly and opened new possibilities for media creation and convergence, for example, new forms of interaction between producers and consumers.
one of the areas of particular concern when examining positive and negative consequences of media convergence is media ownership (Jenkins, 2006). Nowadays the power to control media industry is concentrated in the hands of private owners and relatively small number of big media corporations. For example, companies, such as Warner Bros., which used to focus on the film industry, nowadays have control over various aspects of entertainment industry in general, such as computer games, books, magazines, web sites and toys, which is all part of the process of media convergence (Jenkins, 2006). Consequences of this trend can be viewed as both positive and negative. On the one hand, it may cause the decline in the diversity of material offered and result in a tendency that voices of those lacking economic power will not be taken into account (Branston et al., 2008:179). On the other hand, it is argued that market driven media owned and controlled by big media corporations ‘can actually improve the value of the service, the flexibility of topics and the competence of the contributers’ as well as enable technological developments, change the elitism of media professionals and create new general awareness (Grant, 2009). Another aspect of media convergence that can be seen as its major drawback is what Jenkins (2006:23) calls the ‘participation gap’. This concept refers to the fact that while media convergence in general has encouraged audiences to participate in the process of content creation, it requires extended access to modern technologies, familiarity with the new forms of media, as well as developing certain skills (ibid.). As a result, certain segments of the audience arguably remain neglected and unable to fully participate in the new media culture.
Drawing on the definitions of media convergence outlined above, it can be argued that one of the ways of understanding media convergence is in terms of interaction between old and new forms of media. This concept can be explained more clearly using the example of television industry and its development over the years. The idea of transition from analogue media to digital media stands at the core of media convergence debate. The term ‘analogue’ is used to describe something ‘that resembles something else’ (Dewdney and Ride, 2006:227), therefore signals transmitted through television can be seen as being analogous to the light and sound of the actual scene (ibid.). In the case of analogue media, each form was separate and independent from the others due to the need to use different ‘materials, properties and apparatuses’ (ibid.). With the introduction of digital code however the situation changed rapidly and opened new possibilities for media creation and convergence, for example, new forms of interaction between producers and consumers.
HOW MC AFFECTS
COMMUNICATION
The term
"convergence" is often used to describe the synergies between
technology, media, and information that are changing societies worldwide. The
word is used in conjunction with journalism and media to help us understand how
the Internet and broadband wireless devices have shifted control from the
source to the receiver. This means that the power to decide what is seen, read,
or heard is increasingly in the hands of the consumer.
Today all serious news organizations
have a Web presence and a "Web-first" strategy. Although live
broadcasts are still preferred for major events, it is becoming more common for
stories to first appear on the Web site, then repurposed for either broadcast
or print. As audience media use changes, so also the economics are morphing
into something different from past generations. Traditional media now compete
with blogs and YouTube with mixed results (State of the media, 2007). The
blogosphere, social networking sites, and citizen journalism sites also provide
news and information on demand. But serious news organizations handicap
themselves by insisting first that the information is accurate. So far this has
been difficult to quantify for advertisers.
Convergent
Audiences
For many years "journalism" has been synonymous with newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Academic programs positioned themselves to train students to work as reporters, editors, photographers, and presenters (in the U.S., called "anchors"). For generations, we considered these skills and practices as uniquely our own.
But now, media education has become ubiquitous, and there seems no limit to how young a child can be to get on-air experience (Kohlenberg, 2003). Teenagers with little training routinely produce podcasts or video blogs in their bedrooms and upload them to YouTube, Facebook, or the latest, coolest social networking site. Their friends and acquaintances watch at home or on their broadband cellular telephones.
In the 1990s, many scholars trumpeted "content is king!" yet few anticipated the coming of YouTube. Whether it's idle doodling, juvenile poetry or the serendipitous recording of a cat striking piano keys, all can be considered "content" and even "news" for hundreds of thousands of Web users.
There are a number of issues that must be addressed for media to re-assert itself amid the shifts and changes in society. To frame the modern media landscape, it may be useful to consider the factors of Choice, Competition, Cooperation, and Collision.
a. Choice.
Like it or not, almost anyone with a bit of training can now create attractive, informative, and entertaining content. Whether it's a film, a blog, a viral, parody, rant, commentary, or interview ?all can be produced and posted online. People now have alternatives to TV, radio, and newspaper. Content is not king, but rather a legislature. Media have several votes but can always be overruled.
b. Competition for Advertising and Audiences.
If there's a stable audience of sufficient size, anyone can now get a slice of the advertising pie. The Drudge Report, Flickr, and Rocketboom are three case studies of ordinary non-media web sites that became Internet brands (Wilkinson, McClung, and Sherring, forthcoming). These sites arguably compete with traditional media because they attract advertising and audiences for particular types of news and/or content.
c. Cooperation.
The work of those who create new forms of content (including news and information) can be harvested and/or licensed to mass media for their own use. For example, it is increasingly common for newspaper web sites to feature photo galleries where local amateur photographers can post their work and visitors can even purchase them.
d. Collisions with non-Media Fields.
Competition comes not only from the audience, but also from what might be described as ”traditional non-media fields." Law firms create documentaries and multimedia presentations, government relations people provide expertly crafted news reports and information services, as do hospitals and medical firms (Wilkinson, forthcoming). These reports are professionally written and produced to look exactly like what we expect in a standard "news report." By creating content with entertainment and information value, using digital technologies and delivery systems, we have entered a period of social and economic Darwinism, a survival of the fittest.
For many years "journalism" has been synonymous with newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Academic programs positioned themselves to train students to work as reporters, editors, photographers, and presenters (in the U.S., called "anchors"). For generations, we considered these skills and practices as uniquely our own.
But now, media education has become ubiquitous, and there seems no limit to how young a child can be to get on-air experience (Kohlenberg, 2003). Teenagers with little training routinely produce podcasts or video blogs in their bedrooms and upload them to YouTube, Facebook, or the latest, coolest social networking site. Their friends and acquaintances watch at home or on their broadband cellular telephones.
In the 1990s, many scholars trumpeted "content is king!" yet few anticipated the coming of YouTube. Whether it's idle doodling, juvenile poetry or the serendipitous recording of a cat striking piano keys, all can be considered "content" and even "news" for hundreds of thousands of Web users.
There are a number of issues that must be addressed for media to re-assert itself amid the shifts and changes in society. To frame the modern media landscape, it may be useful to consider the factors of Choice, Competition, Cooperation, and Collision.
a. Choice.
Like it or not, almost anyone with a bit of training can now create attractive, informative, and entertaining content. Whether it's a film, a blog, a viral, parody, rant, commentary, or interview ?all can be produced and posted online. People now have alternatives to TV, radio, and newspaper. Content is not king, but rather a legislature. Media have several votes but can always be overruled.
b. Competition for Advertising and Audiences.
If there's a stable audience of sufficient size, anyone can now get a slice of the advertising pie. The Drudge Report, Flickr, and Rocketboom are three case studies of ordinary non-media web sites that became Internet brands (Wilkinson, McClung, and Sherring, forthcoming). These sites arguably compete with traditional media because they attract advertising and audiences for particular types of news and/or content.
c. Cooperation.
The work of those who create new forms of content (including news and information) can be harvested and/or licensed to mass media for their own use. For example, it is increasingly common for newspaper web sites to feature photo galleries where local amateur photographers can post their work and visitors can even purchase them.
d. Collisions with non-Media Fields.
Competition comes not only from the audience, but also from what might be described as ”traditional non-media fields." Law firms create documentaries and multimedia presentations, government relations people provide expertly crafted news reports and information services, as do hospitals and medical firms (Wilkinson, forthcoming). These reports are professionally written and produced to look exactly like what we expect in a standard "news report." By creating content with entertainment and information value, using digital technologies and delivery systems, we have entered a period of social and economic Darwinism, a survival of the fittest.
The
Multiskilled Journalist
Therefore, convergence forces us to reconsider the most basic question of all: What is a journalist? Generally, educators might suggest that journalists are a particular kind of content creator. Journalists are experts in gathering and presenting information for the public good. They are experts in message creation strategies including the use of language, story structure, and organization. Journalists can see through puffery and jargon and able to weave statistics, personal observations, and the experiences of others to create dramatic and interesting accounts that can deeply impact others.
Modern journalism education trains students to be expert storytellers across all platforms print, electronic, and Internet (Wilkinson, Grant, Fisher, 2008). Journalists should know the visual aesthetics of message design. For print, this includes use of color, framing, white space, fonts, spacing, and symbols. For video, taught principles include things like continuity, framing, lighting, editing, and pacing.
Students trained in journalism and mass communication should also be excellent public speakers and comfortable in "the public eye". Specific skills include knowing how to dress, how to act, how to gesture, and how to speak in front of groups or a camera.
Finally, media professionals should be expert at asking questions that do not insult or anger people. They should be personable and intuitive, knowing principles of psychology and interpersonal communication to be able to interpret nonverbal communication (such as when a person is unwilling or unable to speak about a matter). And they should be knowledgeable about laws and ethics regarding libel, privacy, access, and other relevant areas of press freedom.
Therefore, convergence forces us to reconsider the most basic question of all: What is a journalist? Generally, educators might suggest that journalists are a particular kind of content creator. Journalists are experts in gathering and presenting information for the public good. They are experts in message creation strategies including the use of language, story structure, and organization. Journalists can see through puffery and jargon and able to weave statistics, personal observations, and the experiences of others to create dramatic and interesting accounts that can deeply impact others.
Modern journalism education trains students to be expert storytellers across all platforms print, electronic, and Internet (Wilkinson, Grant, Fisher, 2008). Journalists should know the visual aesthetics of message design. For print, this includes use of color, framing, white space, fonts, spacing, and symbols. For video, taught principles include things like continuity, framing, lighting, editing, and pacing.
Students trained in journalism and mass communication should also be excellent public speakers and comfortable in "the public eye". Specific skills include knowing how to dress, how to act, how to gesture, and how to speak in front of groups or a camera.
Finally, media professionals should be expert at asking questions that do not insult or anger people. They should be personable and intuitive, knowing principles of psychology and interpersonal communication to be able to interpret nonverbal communication (such as when a person is unwilling or unable to speak about a matter). And they should be knowledgeable about laws and ethics regarding libel, privacy, access, and other relevant areas of press freedom.
Future
of Journalism and Media?
For journalism and mass communication to regain stability as a profession, craft, or vocation, some setting of standards may be needed. It is vital that citizen journalism, the blogosphere, and traditional media and journalism programs come together to sort this issue out. But there is widespread disagreement and battle lines have already been drawn. Calls for standards by the industry are typically seen as mere attempts at control. A December, 2007 op-ed piece in the New York Times by several Deans of noted Journalism programs expressed concerns "opinion journalism" and the need for standards in the new media environment. But responses by bloggers likened the call to that of the control tactics used by religious cults (Borriss, 2007).
Therefore, journalism scholars and practitioners might try re-inventing themselves in the broadest terms professionally, and aggressively move into all the areas mentioned above. It would be helpful for us to distinguish between journalism process (unique) and multimedia skills (common), even as the two have become intertwined in daily practice. Over time it is hoped that protocols, practices, and standards will emerge, and the compelling information we create is effective and popular. After all, journalists should be best able to consistently tailor content for each platform. In this manner journalists can remain relevant, viable, and important in the age of media convergence.
Both individually and as a group, journalists must determine how to succeed when their primary product -the "news story" - competes with similar-looking messages from other fields. Journalists may increasingly experiment with new forms of storytelling (as they are), injecting principles of entertainment to boost the informational aspects. Until the economics of journalism stabilize, the value of a multiskilled journalist may remain in flux.
It is past time for journalism and media educators to expand our scope beyond feeding entry-level workers to newspapers and broadcast companies. Those of us who teach the skills of content creation can take comfort in what is happening at the macro-level. .
For journalism and mass communication to regain stability as a profession, craft, or vocation, some setting of standards may be needed. It is vital that citizen journalism, the blogosphere, and traditional media and journalism programs come together to sort this issue out. But there is widespread disagreement and battle lines have already been drawn. Calls for standards by the industry are typically seen as mere attempts at control. A December, 2007 op-ed piece in the New York Times by several Deans of noted Journalism programs expressed concerns "opinion journalism" and the need for standards in the new media environment. But responses by bloggers likened the call to that of the control tactics used by religious cults (Borriss, 2007).
Therefore, journalism scholars and practitioners might try re-inventing themselves in the broadest terms professionally, and aggressively move into all the areas mentioned above. It would be helpful for us to distinguish between journalism process (unique) and multimedia skills (common), even as the two have become intertwined in daily practice. Over time it is hoped that protocols, practices, and standards will emerge, and the compelling information we create is effective and popular. After all, journalists should be best able to consistently tailor content for each platform. In this manner journalists can remain relevant, viable, and important in the age of media convergence.
Both individually and as a group, journalists must determine how to succeed when their primary product -the "news story" - competes with similar-looking messages from other fields. Journalists may increasingly experiment with new forms of storytelling (as they are), injecting principles of entertainment to boost the informational aspects. Until the economics of journalism stabilize, the value of a multiskilled journalist may remain in flux.
It is past time for journalism and media educators to expand our scope beyond feeding entry-level workers to newspapers and broadcast companies. Those of us who teach the skills of content creation can take comfort in what is happening at the macro-level. .
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