Convergence's Fundamental Question

Convergence's Fundamental Question

1. What is Convergence?

   • Different definitions at the Third International Ifra Summit:
     • Survival
     • A way to protect a place in the market
     • A chance to deliver news and information to consumers in a new and different way
   • Rich Gordon: there are five forms of convergences in USA
     • Ownership convergence: applies to the partnerships between large media companies that permits ‘‘synergy’.
     • Structural convergence: occurs when media companies re-organize the newsroom and introduce new positions.
     • Storytelling convergence: new forms of storytelling would emerge for the three new digital presentation platforms, which are desktop computers, portable devices and interactive television.
     • Tactical convergence: implies partnerships between medias of different owners.
     • Information gathering convergence: refers to the situations where media companies require reporters to be multi-skilled
   • Michael Romaner's definition
     • Convergence is not about cooperation ) or partnerships or cross-promotion or content sharing.
     • It involves a shared desk where the key people, the multi-media editors, assess each news event on its merits and assign the most appropriate staff for the story.
     • The multimedia editor will make each judgment based on the most appropriate medium for telling the story.

2. Competing Models

   • The business ideal
     • Multiple-platform publishing as a way to increase productivity among staff and seize advertsing
     • Co-opertition: organizations that originally were competitors work together when it suits each party
     • Michael Aeria: convergence was an opportunity for his company to re-purpose its content for multiple products, to reach multiple audiences.
   • The journalistic ideal
     • Andrew Nachison: if journalistic values prevailed in the move to multiple-platform journalism, quality would improve.
     • Gil Thelen, one of the pioneers of convergence: multiple-platform delivery should be designed ‘to help people live more easily.
     • Quality of content, generated by quality staff, will be what differentiates great news organizations from the mediocre in the future.
     • Convergence offers the audience new ways of absorbing news rather than just offering journalists new ways of presenting it.

3. What is Driving Convergence?

   • Main factor: the changing attitudes and lifestyles of news consumers.
   • Convergence improves a media company’s chance of reaching as many people as possible.
   • Advances in digital technology make convergence technically possible.

4. Barriers to Convergence

   • In some countries, legislation inhibits convergece. For example, limiting the ownerships of media.
   • There is a concen that convergence will lead to a lesser quality of journalistic products.
   • Factors for 'easy' and 'difficult' convergence
     • Easy
       • Focused leadership, the same owner, a flexible culture, co-location of media outlets, previous relationships between potential partners and no unions.
     • Difficult
       • Arises when the organization has different owners, other leadership priorities, multiple managers, inflexible or dissimilar cultures, disparate locations and the presence of unions.

5. Evolution of Convergence Around the World

   • In nearly every country, mono-media companies were ‘‘transforming into multi-media companies, integrating editorial side operations from print, Web and broadcast divisions.
   • Convergence is more advanced outside the United States.
     • Howard Finberg: 100 of the 1457 daily newspapers in the United States have embraced convergence.
   • The Scandinavian nations are particularly advanced.
   • In the Middle East, strategic alliances and mergers within the Arab media are expected to strengthen some companies as the media expands significantly there.

6. Key Factors Related to Convergence

   • Management buy-in: new recruits join the paper on the understanding that they will operate as multiskilled reporters.
   • A change of midset: the move to a multi-media environment could only be successful if accompanied by a corresponding change in the attitude of journalists.
   • Synergy: placing of people with different skills in the same physical space to generate trust and sharing of ideas.
   • Cultural factors: convergence increases the complexity of cultural relationships within a newsroom, within a company, and within the corporate boardroom.
     • Part of the solution is exposure, where journalists learn to trust people from other media through working with them.
   • Training: the journalists must learn how to use tecnological tools.