December 2011: Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

In the new edition of The Convergence Newsletter, Michael Scott Sheerin and Moses Shumow of Florida International University in Miami examine the assumption that age equals fluency with digital tools and social media – in other words, that digital natives coming into classrooms now are fluent in digital technology and social media. In their article, they also look at what factors might better indicate digital fluency.

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December 2011: Is some media research threatened?

In the latest edition of The Convergence Newsletter, an article by Jake Batsell and Camille Kraeplin not only continues their significant research into the evolving nature of convergence, but also includes an observation that signals potential concern for researchers: "Our difficulty soliciting responses suggests that, in an age of information overload, email surveys are becoming a less effective mechanism for conducting newsroom research."

They found that many large and midsize TV stations and groups have adopted "no survey" policies. Others begged off, citing an increasingly burdensome workload. Such surveys have, in the past decade, become an important method of gathering significant information about changes in the field. Are you finding the same problems?

We'd like to hear from you, problems or no, about your views on this and whether you think it could be a significant problem for some research. Post your comments below, or email us at convedit@mailbox.sc.edu. Then join the conversation at our Facebook or Google+ page. We'd like to compile your views in a future issue.

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December 2011: Converging with the former audience

A decade ago, convergence often meant partnerships between television stations and newspapers. In the latest phase of their longitudinal study, Jake Batsell and Camille Kraeplin of Southern Methodist University look at the state of those partnerships and what has developed in their place. Read their report in the December edition of The Convergence Newsletter, then join the conversation at our Facebook or Google+ page.

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November 2011: Rob Curley shows how to make digital pay

In a Skype video call to the 10th Annual Convergence and Society Conference, Rob Curley explained his strategy for doing hyperlocal and "Big J" journalism that wins readers and awards and generating the revenue to pay for it in the process. Read a recap of Curley's lively presentation at the conference in the latest edition of The Convergence Newsletter. Then join the conversation at Facebook.

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November 2011: Case study examines newspaper use of community writers

Having residents write about their own city seems a great way for a local newspaper to cover its community – especially when the writers work for free. Until the writers and the newspaper run into a controversial issue. Writing in the latest edition of The Convergence Newsletter, Robert "Ted" Gutsche Jr. uses a case study to explore the challenges and the pitfalls one Midwestern newspaper encountered. Then join the conversation at Facebook.

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November 2011: Storify the news

How can you train students to handle social media adeptly? Storify it, says Kelly Fincham of Hofstra. "Social media plays a huge role in journalism today, so much so that entry-level journalists are expected to work with new sources of content in ways that were unimaginable when I went into journalism in the early 1980s," she writes in the latest edition of The Convergence Newsletter. Read her account from the 10th Annual Convergence and Society Conference of how she has transformed her teaching and is helping students "make sense of it all." Then join the conversation at Facebook.

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October 2011: Thinking on your feet

For the astute professional, the stream of new media creates unprecedented access to audiences. That requires an awareness of new media and a willingness to adopt different practices. Read how two professions are changing in the new edition of The Convergence Newsletter, http://sc.edu/cmcis/news/convergence/v8no7.html. Then join the conversation on Facebook.

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October 2011: We're all publishers now

Doug Fisher explores how public relations practitioners in government and education are adopting a publishing mindset. Instead of reacting to news stories, they are learning to set the agenda by pre-empting bad news or sending messages directly through their own channels. Read the article in the new edition of The Convergence Newsletter, and join the conversation on Facebook.

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October 2011: A hundred comments in a half-hour

Blogging has become "the first draft of journalism" and a channel to stronger relationships with readers, according to sports writers adapting to their expanded roles. Learn how pros covering leagues from the NFL to minor league hockey have integrated blogging into the routine. Read Brian Moritz's research in the new edition of The Convergence Newsletter. Then join the conversation on Facebook.

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September 2011: Utah's Experiment in Team Teaching

Kimberley Mangun and Daren Brabham collaborated at Utah to team teach a course in beat reporting and multimedia with a focus on diversity reporting. Explore their results in the new edition of The Convergence Newsletter in their article, Converging Beat Reporting, Diversity and Multimedia: An Experiment in Team Teaching.

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September 2011: Update on TCU's converged student newsroom

At Texas Christian University, Assistant Professor Aaron Chimbel helps students navigate the demands of combining four news operations -- newspaper, television, webcasts and magazine -- into one news website. How do you coordinate coverage? Who has the final say? And can you hold a meeting for 50 reporters and editors? In an update to his 2010 article, Chimbel reports on TCU's progress in Starting a Converged Campus News Website in the new edition of The Convergence Newsletter.

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September 2011: When students take the lead

To learn news convergence, students eventually must take the lead and experience the challenges of working in a converged newsroom. In the process, they figure out how to overcome technical obstacles, negotiate through staff conflicts, and provide readers rich, multimedia content on deadline.

This month, Aaron Chimbel explains how his students at Texas Christian University's Schieffer School of Journalism have managed the practical aspects of merging newspaper, magazine and broadcast operations into a single news site, TCU360.com, and he reports on the early results.

Kimberley Mangun and Daren Brabham analyze the lessons they and their students at the University of Utah learned from a collaborative project with reporting and Web design classes.

Read the full September issue.

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August 2011: Lessons in convergence from two perspectives

It falls to us as educators to help students discover the best ways to tell a story, but what happens when we are not sure of the best way to do that? What if the curriculum is entrenched in the status quo?

The theme of this month's newsletter is convergence in the classroom. Sometimes, rigid credit-hour guidelines limit what we can do to integrate convergence on both the program and classroom level. Even as the 10th Convergence and Society conference approaches (agenda now available), we still are looking for new ideas to prepare the journalists of tomorrow.

In this issue, Annemarie Franczyk looks at things from a program perspective while Jennifer Cox offers some insight at the classroom level. Also in this issue, Convergence and Society conference chair Augie Grant briefs us on the upcoming conference.

To read the August issue, click here.

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June 2011: Redefining Journalism Education in a Digital Sense

There isn't much about media that isn't digital now, but that continues to raise questions about whether education systems internationally are equipped to meet the needs of the digital creative industries. EU nations and the U.S. have been on different paths in approaching the issue: The U.S., as might be expected, more laissez faire, while Britain, for instance, has been more inclined to treat it as a matter of national policy.

But convergence is rapidly breaking down barriers and bridging oceans, making such questions cross-national concerns. The result is an EU-U.S. funded study designed to bring industry and education together to find answers and make recommendations to policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic. The work goes beyond journalism and media to encompass a wide range of related digital creative industries - but that's part of the challenge, determining what should be included.

In this issue, Executive Editor Doug Fisher, a member of the study group, provides a more detailed explanation and asks, on behalf of the researchers, for your ideas and, especially, for nominations to industry panels that will be established as part of the work.

You can read the article here.

April/May 2011 Convergence Newsletter

With convergence comes great responsibility and opportunity - opportunity that the University of South Florida's Anne Anderson says many newspapers still seem to be missing. In her discussion of media platform convergence, Anderson highlights the industry's neglect of younger audiences even as studies show the reading habit begins early. Part of the news industry's responsibility is to adapt content to its audience, and Anderson suggests the industry expand the concept of younger readers and community content in order to capture this ignored audience.

To read the entire article click, here.

Another responsibility is to try new things, as Chris Vadnais, superintendent of AFN-Incirlik, the Defense Department's radio and television station at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, has done as a converged journalist. He details his experience and says managers are vital to the convergence process and must lead by taking some of the fear out of failure.

To read the entire article, click here.

To read the entire April/May issue click here.

March 2011 Convergence Newsletter

While it's no secret converging newsrooms face many challenges, such as staff restructuring, the convergence of two newspapers written in different languages for diverse target audiences creates its own set of issues.

John Turner recently worked for two Cambodian newspapers, The Phnom Penh Post and The Cambodia Daily. In this issue, Turner reflects on positive and negative aspects of multilingual and multicultural convergence.

To read Turner's entire article, click here.

To read the March issue of the Convergence Newsletter, click here.

February 2011 Convergence Newsletter

The Internet's role in convergence is irrefutable as the centralized location of easily accessible information. This continues to send shockwaves throughout the newspaper industry, and while some applaud new journalism for breathing a new life into newspapers, others are quick to write the industry's obituary.

But the University of Alabama's Kristen Heflin cautions not to jump to conclusions. Her research of the newspaper industry's past shows the industry's ability to adapt to change and survive, rather than meet an untimely death at the hands of another news platform.

In this issue, Heflin explores the parallels between the emergence of television news and its effect on the newspaper industry and the relationship between newspapers and the Internet.


To read the entire article, click here.

To read the entire issue, click here.


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