Why and how Convergence is Emerging

This week I read ‘Why and how Convergence is Emerging‘ in Stephen Quinn’s Convergent Journalism: The fundamentals of multi-media reporting (2005, Peter Lang, New York), which discusses the social and technological factors affecting convergence, the legal and structural factors affecting convergence and the macro to micro factors that make convergence possible.  

Convergence offers a way to satisfy the audience’s desire for news 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in multiple platforms, to reach multiple audiences.

The aim is to supply news and information whenever and wherever the audience wants it, in as many possible formats, to reach the maximum number of people.

In 2003 employed Australians averaged 1,855 work hours a year. This is at the expense of people’s leisure time, leading to a demogrphic of time poor consumers.

It seems poeple are no longer interested in, or do not have the time, to sift through pages of a daily newspaper in search of an article they find interesting. In both the United Sates of America and Australia, there has been a significant readership decline half century relative to population, as illustrated in the below graphs, hence, newspapers could become niche players by 2010.

* Graphs courtesy of Quinn S., ALJ301 Multi-Media Journalism, Lecture 2, ‘Convergence’

It seems the toughest obstacle to overcome in relation to convergence is the cultural resistance within the industry.

I believe with multiple platforms and an array of resources, as well as a team of print, radio and television journalists, convergence will benefit the viewers, users and readers.

Unit Overview

ALJ301 Multi-Media Journalism focuses on journalism from the perspective of multi-media rather than the traditional linear form.

This unit is highly relevant for journalism students because of the way the media is changing.

The purpose of this unit is to:

• introduce new forms of journalism: what is being called ‘now’ media rather than new media;
• give students the chance to become publishers via blogs;
• encourage students to think multi-media rather than linear in terms of storytelling;
• and expose students to new ideas in the world of journalism.

On completion of this unit, I should be able to:

• produce content for a blog;
• understand how and why the media worldwide are changing;
• appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of each of the four main ideas and publishing forms – print, broadcast, online and mobile;
• and have some sense of where journalism is heading.