To find an example of convergence I turned to local
media. One example of ownership convergence, as defined by Quinn and Filak, in
the Los Angeles area is the radio and television stations owned by CBS and
their website. The local CBS television affiliate CBS2, as well as an independent
station KCAL9, also owned by the CBS Television Stations subsidiary of the CBS
Corporation, are sister stations. The television stations share a website with
the radio station KNX 1070, which provides 24-hour news. KNX is owned by CBS Radio,
another facet of the CBS Corporation. The three stations come together on a
website branded “CBS Los Angeles.” The homepage of the website includes links
to “Seen On TV” content as well as information specific to the radio station,
such as “KNX On Your Corner.” In addition, the website has its own text stories
and provides readers with the ability to subscribe to social media and text
alerts.
CBS Los Angeles: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/station/cbs-kcal/
A great example of multimedia journalism that I
found is the Washington Post’s current online coverage of the Democratic
National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. The newspaper’s website
features “The Grid,” which provides an embedded video that plays live coverage of
the DNC. It also includes a timeline of clickable headlines from live bloggers
of the 2012 election, which lead to text stories that often include videos and
pictures as well. There is also schedule of who is to speak at the convention. Another
feature of the grid is the collection of photographs that people have taken
from the convention and posted to Instagram, as well as tweets from other news
organizations, politicians and delegates. The Grid is also made interactive for
the average visitor, as one can customize what shows up on the page, including
from what sources and in what format their election coverage comes. It is an example
of how a newspaper, in addition to publishing more in-depth stories in its
paper, the WP utilizes online for its immediacy, interactivity, and ability to
bring together several formats, as Quinn and Filak discuss.
Election Blog: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/
Excellent examples. The local news content sharing is so illustrative of this growing trend. On the downside, it limits the diversity of news we consume, and creates fewer jobs for journalists! But I also appreciate the website. And I have been relying on the WaPo for comprehensive campaign coverage.
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