Media Convergence vs. Multimedia - Brianda Sanchez

Media Convergence

         Convergence is the process in which several channels operate together. An example of this would be the ABC7 website because in the sports section a viewer, if he chose to, would be able to navigate through ESPN because there is a link to it. Of course this is possible due to the fact that these two channels are owned by Disney. Another example of media convergence is on KTLA's bottom home page, there is a section that you can click on called 'Headlines from Fox News' which will redirected you to the Fox News website.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/index
http://www.ktla.com/

Multimedia

       Multimedia is the multiple forms of media in which a story is presented. E! Online is a website that incorporates many types of media, you can see recaps of shows and in some special occasions they  stream live events such as red carpets for award ceremonies. Another aspect that they have is that every morning they have a 15-20 minute show online called "Live from E" which talks about the latest celebrity news. This show encourages viewers to "be part" of it by tweeting comments using a hashtag and those comments are then read live on air.

http://www.eonline.com/videos

Media convergence and multimedia journalism

According to Convergent Journalism authors Stephen Quinn and Vincent Filak, there are five types of media convergence: ownership, tactical, structural, information-gathering, storytelling and presentation convergence.

An example of media convergence is through the Philippines’ No. 1 news corporation ABS-CBN. The company eventually sought ownership of movie production company Star Cinema, radio station DZMM and print newspaper Manila Times.

Multimedia journalism involves the many platforms to publish news content. It can also fall under the subgroup of convergent journalism’s information-gathering category as company’s prefer reporters to be multi-skilled in publishing content through different forms of media, ranging from a photo slideshow to video. Multimedia journalism is more so a supplement or enhancement to preexisting news content.

An example of multimedia journalism is through Canadian-New York company VICE Mag. It started off as a print magazine, but today with a 900,000 readership circulation, VICE is even more far-reaching on the internet through video documentaries, music and photo galleries. Most if its writers are responsible for the text and photos of each article.

Both media convergence and multimedia journalism attempt to kill two birds with one stone through audience expansion, while maintaining cost reduction. 

-Katrina Guevara

Media convergence and Multimedia Journalism

Media convergence

When speaking of media convergence, Quinn and Filak state that the definition of media convergence is hard to pin down. They say that "convergence tends to have as many definitions as the number of people who practice or study it." This is because convergence describes many types of media expansion: one  parent company cross promoting products among its smaller companies, two companies teaming up to generate content and promoting it together, or even a journalist being savvy in several forms of media such as audio, visual, and print. The purpose of  most media convergence is revenue generation, cost reduction, and audience expansion. An example of tactical convergence is CNN's collaboration with both Money Magazine and Fortune Magazine  to form CNNMoney (money.cnn.com), a site that offers economic news and personal finance advice from Money and Fortune. The magazines use the site as another platform to gain an audience, and CNN uses the magazines for content.


 Multimedia Journalism

Multimedia journalism is simply reporting news across different platforms.  Journalists will need to be adept at working in different platforms and multimedia journalism affords the opportunity to learn different mediums.  For instance, I intern at Marketplace, a national radio program where the reporters not only gather news and report for radio broadcast, but also must turn those stories into print for the site marketplace.org.  In addition, the reporter must be able to use a digital camera as their are photos posted for some of the stories. Senior Producer Paddy Hirsch of Marketplace Personal Finance also hosts a video explainer called the Marketplace Whiteboard (http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/whiteboard. Marketplace also provides a podcast for those who were unable to listen live.

Media Convergence v. Multimedia Journalism

Media Convergence

Convergence allows news organizations and companies to broaden their audience. This strategy furthermore promotes news stories and products that can be consumed by viewers. An example of media convergence is a company like ESPN, which uses various types of media platforms, such as magazine, radio, online, social media and broadcast (http://espn.go.com/). Their site links live segments of their broadcast as well as displays TV listings and show times. The site works to promote all their forums so sports fans can be aware of the variety of ways to stay informed about their favorite teams. On the site are also advertisements, which display companies that support the company and have come together to help promote each other’s businesses. There are mutual benefits with every click of the mouse. In different sections of the website there are also scroll boxes which include social media updates and fantasy football enthusiasts mentioning their beloved news network. This further demonstrates how well ESPN has encouraged people to talk about their company.

Multimedia Journalism 

Multimedia journalism in contrast is only one dimension of convergence. It is the practice of gathering news and reporting it across multiple platforms. An example of multimedia journalism is the Los Angeles Times. They not only offer printed publications but they also combine various multimedia aspects to their news stories on their website (http://www.latimes.com/). They have a section of their news purely dedicated to photography, which is then linked to a report to an online news article or description. The text helps the reader to understand the images being displayed (http://framework.latimes.com/2012/09/04/2012-dnc/#/2). The LA Times is also on various social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter, and smart phone apps, which offer automatic updates of breaking news (https://twitter.com/latimes).  Along with their website they have interactive games such a crosswords and quizzes that can keep a reader on their webpage for hours. This innovative strategy allows the LATimes to reach a broader audience. People on the go have the ability to be informed using their favorite type of media whether it is print, video or online. The LA Times has become readily accessible and its online site has been organized in a way that people can directly click on the information they are most interested in.

Media Convergence and Multimedia Journalism 2012

Media Convergence "is a revolutionary and evolutionary form of journalism that is emerging in many parts of the world," according to Stephen Quinn and Vincent F. Filak the authors of the textbook Convergent Journalism: An Introduction to Writing and Producing Across Media. It is a combination of several media styles into one unit for distributing an intense experience. We now have access to print, radio, television, and the Internet through numerous digital media platforms any time of the day at our hands. An example I found was Yahoo! because they provide videos from various news stations such as KCAL9 News that is a local Los Angeles news station as well as Good Morning America all the way from the "Big Apple" New York City. Aside from that they have articles from the Associated Press relating to health concerns and world news. Today Yahoo! remains to be best known as "the world's most visited home page" because of it's news, finance, video sharing, sports, and of course most popular mail.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/brazen-bank-robbers-strapped-device-193500610.html

Multimedia Journalism captivates the audience with a mixture of images, video, text, and graphics to help tell a story. Now through the use of the Internet everyone can be connected to news coverage within seconds. The key is to present the story in the most persuading and educational way. An example I found was abc7.com because they have text, video clips, audio, and photographs on the website that are constantly being updated. They also allow their audience to send any breaking news tips, videos and pictures that can be featured on ABC7 Eyewitness News. By doing this readers can now interact through comments online or sending in footage from their personal camera. They also have the Live Mega Doppler 7000 HD for readers to get an animated radar view from the Southland overview to the Ventura County. Whether watching a car chase on television or receiving alerts to your cell phone everyone can now be informed of breaking news immediately.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8801554

Media Convergence and Multimedia Journalism

Example of Media Convergence:

            According to Jenkins (200:93), media convergence is an ongoing process, occurring at various intersections of media technologies, industries, content and audiences; it’s not an end state. We are entering an era where media will be everywhere, and we will use all kinds of media in relation to one another.

            An example I came across would be an Okalahoma City Newspaper. The Daily Oklahoman and local television station and CBS affiliate KWTV decided to become partners and create a website. Basically, they partnered up and updated the existing website of The Daily Oklahoman (NewsOK.com) and added video content to go along with the already printed pieces. Along with advertising efforts its revenues increased as well as their audiences since they converged together. Since they converged it has been reported that NewsOK.com averages 50,000 more hits per day than the previous separate websites. The NewsOK.com webpage also has a link to the Oklahoman.com as well on the top of the page so readers can go directly to their site of need be. 

http://newsok.com/ 

Example of Multimedia Journalism:

            Multimedia journalism can be defined as the practice of gathering news and reporting it across multiple platforms. The internet has created opportunities for news coverage to be available any time of the day.

            Having news on the internet creates the opportunity for readers to interact and contribute with one another. Not only can readers interact with each other but, the internet offers the most immediate form of updating a story than any other medium. Besides just having the text of the story, the internet also offers the options of adding pictures and video to the story as seen in the link below. Having the availability to update the story at any time of the day, have readers interact and contribute to the story, the option of adding video and or pictures to enhance the text makes it that much easier for readers to get the most up to date and thorough news possible and gives the news more depth with their coverage in creative ways. 

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-east-la-bank-robbery,0,986798.story 

 

Media Convergence & Multimedia Journalism: Kendra A.

Media Convergence 

Media convergence, according to Wilkinson, Grant and Fisher, is the practice of producing and reporting news across two or more media simultaneously. Though there are many different types of media convergence, such as ownership, information and storytelling convergence, the most popular form of convergence is one news source providing multiple media platforms of the same information, even if they come from a different news site. As journalism develops to suit the digital age, various news providers are seeking out different ways of providing more in-depth coverage that was not possible before the internet. The story I linked below, which is the LA Times linking its audience to KTLA broadcast coverage of a story they have covered on their website, is an example of storytelling convergence in the media. The Huffington Post, and other news aggregators like Yahoo and Google News, also use media convergence as their main outlet for providing news. 

http://www.latimes.com/ktla-wrestling-coach-sought,0,2581368.story

Multimedia Journalism 

Multimedia journalism is a new form of storytelling in which a traditional news outlet which was originally in one format, such as a print newspaper, a radio station or broadcast news program experiments with different mediums to draw audiences to their websites and other types of publishing formats. It is one form of media convergence that is commonly used among bigger news sites to keep their readers on their sites and develop loyalty as a news source and brand if they are able to provide more types of content in creative ways. The example I provided in the link below is a print and radio broadcast by NPR about a bridge that has the potential to be converted into a park which would connect two cities in Washington, D.C. It is a good example of multimedia journalism because NPR has only recently began exploring news depth with their news coverage and techniques once their website gave them the outlet to do so.

http://www.npr.org/2012/09/04/160533790/bridging-the-gap-between-two-neighborhoods