Converged newsrooms, fortunately or unfortunately, are probably the wave of the future. Corporations will try to get more output from fewer resources whether that benefits employees or viewers/readers. There can be some benefits to converged newsrooms in the breadth and depth of reporting offered on the different platforms. A television operation has much to gain by tapping into the reporting power of a newspaper. A newspaper can increase its reach through a television station. And a web operation can utilize material from both media sources to create a multi-layered presentation.
Media General’s Tampa News Center was the first operation in the country to combine online, print, and television newsrooms into one building. More than just a geographic change, the newsrooms were combined to try and achieve technical and economic convergence. According to Dupagne and Garrison (2009) the operation has been largely successful both in economic advantages and increased storytelling abilities.
One important note that came from the Dupagne and Garrison (2009) report is the increased need for young journalists to specialize and generalize. While this definitely has some disadvantages, there are some positives to be taken from this requirement for new journalists. A journalist coming into a converged newsroom will have the opportunity to try on many different hats. This opportunity will allow him/her to find their particular niche. As it stands now, a journalists walking into a TV newsroom must sink or swim on the air. In a converged newsroom, there might be the chance to find the avenue that fits them best.
The implication of this move to converged newsrooms has profound effects on the academy. Educators must be prepared to teach students how to create content across platforms. More important than just creating content for the platforms is also storytelling. Dupagne and Garrison (2009) note, “communication basics and abilities should remain key attributes for new graduates” (p. 197). This means that the main emphasis should still be on reporting and storytelling. Medium related courses must supplement those course to prepare students to display the content.
References
Dupagne, M., & Garrison, B. (2009). The meaning and influence of convergence: A qualitative case study of newsroom work at the Tampa News Center. In A. E. Grant & J. Wilkinson (Eds.), Understanding media convergence : the state of the field (pp. 182-203). New York: Oxford University Press.
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First, I like your blog redesign. It’s more dramatic. And it reminds me of a typewriter, which I undoubtedly find comforting, having spent most of my life in an old media world (not that I’ve used a typewriter in decades). I think it’s because of the dark gray bars underneath “Notes On.” It’s like I’m looking at the typewriter roller just before I roll in a sheet of paper. Anyway, it’s a classy design.
It’s too early to say if the Media General News Center has worked. As I mentioned in my blog, half of the employees who were there in 2005 aren’t there any more. It’s hard to see how the current staff can produce good stories across three platforms without the resources they need. And the websites of the TV station, Tampa Tribune, and TBO.com don’t look that outstanding to me.
You’re right about training for journalists. It has to change drastically. Students need a lot more training in the technology and how to use it. And maybe it won’t be as difficult for them since they’ve grown up with the Internet and smart phones. I just hope they learn how to produce good writing, good editing, good photos — video and still — and good audio. Knowing the technology won’t make them good journalists.
And don’t you think the entire business model for all the mass media in journalism remains broken? Newsrooms and news organizations have to support themselves and make some money. Nonprofit sites that rely on donations and foundation grants are multiplying, which means that more sites are competing for basically the same number of dollars. It’s hard to see how paywalls are going to work except in very specific circumstances. And there’s not enough ad revenue to support news sites. Until there is at least one — and hopefully several — viable business models for 21st century journalism, I don’t see how any of this will work.