It is illuminating and important to highlight what convergence means for those in the media business, and also for those who teach tomorrow's media practitioners. Those are considerations we regularly take up at The Convergence Newsletter.
But we should keep in mind that media exist to serve audiences, and so the effects of convergence upon these audiences is no trivial matter.
June's newsletter is another in our ongoing series of special theme issues. This month's focus is on communities, and how they are impacted by convergence. We include in our analysis communities both physical and otherwise, for when we talk about "communities" in the same context as "convergence," the intangible are in fact as real as their material counterparts.
Click here to read the June issue of The Convergence Newsletter.
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Friday, June 13, 2008
June 2008 Issue Now Available
June 2008: Community Embraces a Converged Journalism-Sourcing Project
Paul Niwa may have hit upon sometime rather big. The Emerson College professor devised a unique project to create a new model of compiling sources for journalists, using the "snowballing" method of sources referring sources. Niwa and his students created a visual, Web-based schema displaying the sources and their degrees of interconnectivity.
And then something funny happened. Niwa discovered community members began to use the project not for its original journalistic function, but for a host of other purposes serving community concerns.
Niwa's piece reminds us that the Web remains, as always, organic and unpredictable.
Read the full article here.
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June 2008: Radio and Newspaper Converge in one of Iowa’s Smallest Markets
The effects of convergence, it might be argued, can be felt more acutely in smaller communities. In the case of Iowa Falls, Iowa, changes were in store when the town's newspaper and a major radio station came under the same roof.
Cliff Brockman of Wartburg College tells us how the convergence has been a miniature boon to the town — better news coverage and new jobs followed the merger, Brockman reports.
Read the full article here.
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June 2008: Knight Foundation Looks Online to Connect with Innovators
In the tradition of our recent interview with National Public Radio, this month we contacted Marc Fest, vice president of communications at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, to ask about Knight's recently created position of online community manager.
We asked Fest why Knight decided to create the position, and what they hope to get out of it. Fest's observations and insights remind us how much stands to be gained, not only by nonprofits like Knight but also by those in the for-profit arena, by plugging into the ever-growing online community.
Click here to read the full interview.
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Friday, May 9, 2008
May 2008 Issue Now Available
From high-tech newsmobiles to book reviews to Convergence Conferences, our May issue takes a diversified look at convergence happenings in industry and academia.
If you have reactions to any of this month's articles, you can use this blog's comments feature and leave your thoughts at each piece's corresponding blog post, below.
Click here to read the May issue of The Convergence Newsletter.
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May 2008: Newspapers Go Mobile to Compete with TV
L. Carol Christopher's look at the Star Car has been republished with the generous permission of The Seybold Report.
Read the full article here.
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May 2008: Book Review – Online Journalism Ethics: Traditions and Transitions
Ethics and changes to the industry, many brought on by technology, are of primary consideration in the next text Online Journalism Ethics: Traditions and Transitions, according to USC's Dr. Chris Roberts, who reviews Cecelia Friend and Jane B. Singer's book for our May issue.
Read the full review here.
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May 2008: Convergence Conference at USC
The call for papers deadline for this year's annual Convergence Conference at the University of South Carolina is June 15. USC's Dr. Augie Grant provides details for those who may be interested in submitting. Also included is a call for participants on a panel dedicated to convergence education.
Read the full article here.
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May 2008: What's Wrong With the Convergence Conference?
Once upon a time, we promised to bring the results of our invitation to last October's Convergence Conference attendees to tell us how to improve the conference. Two attendees provided some great feedback, which TCN editor Brad Petit compiled for this issue.
Read the full article here.
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
April 2008 Issue Now Available
Over the years, we have featured the occasional article from outside our borders in The Convergence Newsletter -- contributors in locales from China to Chile have leant an international touch to the newsletter.
But we figured it was time to take global convergence more seriously. So, we intend to release two special international-themed issues a year; this month's issue is the first. We hope our readers -- ours is a worldwide audience -- will appreciate this broader look at convergence, in all its intercontinental applications.
If you have reactions to any of this month's articles, you can use this blog's comments feature and leave your thoughts at each piece's corresponding blog post, below.
Click here to read the April issue of The Convergence Newsletter.
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April 2008: Australia’s Fairfax Embraces the Multimedia Future
Reporters equipped with high-tech PDAs? Online-only dailies? Over 5 million monthly pageviews? This is life in the digital fast lane for Fairfax Media, Australia's largest media group. Dr. Stephen Quinn of Deakin University tells us how the digital "future" is now at Fairfax.
Read the full article here.
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April 2008: Media Convergence and Journalism Teaching in Brazil - A Project Using Newsplex as a Reference
We head south of the border (well, our border, anyway) with Lorena Tarcia of Brazil, to explore an in-depth convergence-teaching project Tarcia has engaged in with her students at University Center of Belo Horizonte. Tarcia first introduced us to this project, which was based on the Newsplex model, at last October's Convergence Conference at USC.
Read the full article here.
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April 2008: Are We Paying Enough Attention to Space in Newsroom Studies
The third of our international contributions come from Ivar John Erdal of the University of Oslo in Norway. Erdal expands upon his presentation at last October's Convergence Conference at USC, in which he called our attention to the need to think of convergence in real, spatial terms -- especially when considering how newsroom personnel interact in a converged environment.
Read the full article here.
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April 2008: Book Announcement - Principles of Convergence Journalism
Dr. Augie Grant announces the publication of a new practical textbook for teaching convergence. Principles of Convergence Journalism, from Oxford University Press, takes a step-by-step look at reporting across platforms, using new media, and a host of other tools of interest to the convergence journalist. TCN Executive Editor Doug Fisher and past newsletter contributor Dr. Jeff Wilkinson are co-authors.
Read the full announcement here.
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Thursday, March 6, 2008
March 2008 Issue Now Available
Fresh off our first theme issue of the year -- February's look at broadcasting -- we at The Convergence Newsletter found ourselves with still more solid material on broadcasting. So we've extended the February theme, if you will, to this month's issue, with a look at how TV stations use new-media technology to stay in touch with viewers, followed by the conclusion of our interview with National Public Radio's Maria Thomas. We featured part one of our interview with Thomas, NPR's senior vice president of digital media, in February.
If you have reactions to any of this month's articles, you can use this blog's comments feature and leave your thoughts at each piece's corresponding blog post, below.
Click here to read the March issue of The Convergence Newsletter.
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March 2008: How Television Stations are "Broadcasting" Their News to Your Pocket
As technologies like text messaging and e-mail continue to gain prevalence in our society, many in the world of traditional media are seeking ways to capitalize on these new delivery formats to provide their customers with content.
Dr. Tim Brown of the University of Central Florida discusses research that has delved into the question of how local television stations are taking advantage of these new-media options.
Read the full article here.
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March 2008: NPR: Not your Parents' Radio – Part Two
In February's issue of The Convergence Newsletter, we presented part one of our interview with Maria Thomas, senior vice president of digital media at National Public Radio. This month, we're pleased to present the conclusion to that interview.
Thomas speaks at length about how a media company that has been traditionally tied to a particular format -- in this case, radio -- can become an innovator in the arena of new technologies while at the same time staying true to its core values.
Read part two of the interview here.
You can comment on this interview by using the comments link below.
While NPR continues to embrace new technologies, some traditional radio stations are worrying customers will stop tuning in for over-the-air NPR content, and possibly stop donating to those listener-supported stations, as well. Randy Dotinga of The Christian Science Monitor explains.
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