Monday, September 10, 2012

Media Convergence & Multimedia Journalism


Media convergence

It’s hard to specify exactly what media convergence is, since it is a constant process in this technological age. Simplified it could be described as how media producers, and sometimes consumers, uses different media platforms to create new ways to experience media. According to Quinn and Filak there are many different types of media convergence, such as ownership, tactical, structural and information-gathering, to mention a few. An example of tactical convergence is CNN Money, a website collaboration between CNN, Fortune Magazine and Money Magazine: http://money.cnn.com/

The site offers economic news as well as financial advice. By creating the site together they are combining both their knowledge and their reach: CNN probably uses it to get new content from the magazines, while the main purpose for the magazines most likely is to expand their audience.


Multimedia journalism

Multimedia journalism is one dimension of media convergence. Simply put it’s reporting news across multiple platforms. The technological development the last two decades has changed our view of traditional media and today the audience expect more, regardless of media type. The first step is usually to make the content available online, besides printing it, airing it or broadcast it, but it doesn’t stop there. As a journalist today you’re expected to be able to do everything within media: write, take photos, shoot video, create audio and so on.

An example of this is The New York Times. As almost every newspaper and magazine, The New York Times is not only a print media in traditional terms. They have their own website, which is constantly being updated, where they also have videos, slideshows and several ways to interact. In mid-August they reported about Pussy Riot, the Russian punk band who protested Putin and were sentenced to jail. This article isn’t just a story in writing, there’s also a slideshow from the trial, a video of the performance for which they were sentenced and many ways to leave comments or share the story through social media platforms: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/18/world/europe/suspense-ahead-of-verdict-for-jailed-russian-punk-band.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

1 comment:

  1. As I just noted in an earlier post, partnerships like your CNN Money example are great for enabling mainstream media to reach niche audiences (in this case, those following business news). And the NYT's coverage of Pussy Riot nicely illustrates multimedia storytelling.

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