Convergence

As a student in a 21^st century Journalism course, I am taught how to use cameras, write stories for different mediums and edit footage. These roles were traditionally filled by several different people whom specialised in the specific areas. With the modern age of technological innovations upon us Journalism has changed and Journalism students in the 21^st century are taught how to do all these practices and more in what is being called media “Convergence.”

Tim Harrower defines convergence as the ability for journalists to cross platform of new stories from print to television coverage to the internet. He outlines 3 areas of convergence.

1.       Newsroom Convergence

Newsroom Convergence is when journalist from several different media mediums works in the same office or building, which is not done traditionally papers and television stations were all separated. An example of where this type of convergence exists is in Tampa in Florida. The News centre opened in 2000 and allows Journalists from different platforms to be able to attend the same meetings, plan coverage together and even decide upon which medium will tell a news story best.

2.       Newsgathering Convergence

News gathering convergence is where the information that is accessed by Journalists is once again shared upon the collective group of media channels. Reporters, Editors and photographers all collaborate on story production. Within this convergence newspapers can borrow images from television broadcasts. The roles of the Journalist also expand as they learn to multitask in multimedia.

3.       Content Convergence

According to Harrower, this is the part of convergence that is most in its infancy.  Content convergence is the finished product which combines all the different mediums to produce one story. For example the image borrowed by from the newspaper, the audio from a radio broadcast and of course the script for the television interview can all be used on one platform and be broadcasted on the web.

I believe it’s harder for me to notice the media news room convergence than it would be for an older experienced Journalist. Convergence however could prove to be an obstacle for aspiring Journalists who may be camera shy or just can’t seem to work out how a camera operates.

 I believe convergence is still very much in its infancy but may not work on some levels to find people talented in all areas of multimedia.

I think if convergence continues to expand and the expectation of journalists to master all media mediums could potentially lose valuable print, television or even camera operators because of the medias desire to combine all multimedia together.

Tim Harrowers article on Convergence:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:D_HFMkz8EIEJ:www.timharrower.com/PDFs/convergence.pdf+http://www.timharrower.com/PDFs/convergence.pdf&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESizzWwBXK_hfojAFsvprvrmIWRmaOGk7V9XFs8MhQq6n_6i2Ik46e5bmFXKvuq5fGoB2QzpUqW7FwY98yS9QXtTgcRMS_msG_SbPtSpJr6ybnKiBaKO3OBkICHg3GW2dsQjD0oo&sig=AHIEtbR6Ph1z9PehkF5IyIzWc64ZSl0Nvg