The questions about the relevance of the “classic” newsroom sociology in today’s life is shared by many researchers who study a relatively new phenomenon – newsroom convergence (Pavlik 2004; Singer 2004; Lawson-Borders 2006; Saltzis and Dickinson 2008).
Newswork or news production has changed very much in the last decade. There have been some structural changes (Boczkowski 2004; Klinenberg 2005; García- Avilés and Carvajal 2008) including:
- speeding up of the journalistic production process, increasing of monitoring of other media (Boczkowski 2004).
- Cherishing multi-skilling and multi-tasking meaning gathering, selecting, producing, and disseminating content via several platforms within a tight time limit (Boczkowski 2004; Deuze 2007).
- blurred lines among newspaper, radio, television, and online journalistic culture, as a result of constant reorganizing and restructuring of work, despite strong strives for a heterogeneous content being provided (Deuze 2007).
- development of atypical labor relations, that is, flexible, non-committed, and risk- filled job opportunities (International-Federation-of-Journalists 2006).
For a more detailed review of newswork literature, see Vobic (2010) who studies online journalists’ practices.
“Media convergence is like teenage sex. Everybody thinks everybody else is doing it. The few who are actually doing it aren’t very good at it.” (Haagerup 2002; Dailey, Demo et al. 2003).
There is no standardized definition of news or newsroom convergence and debates often occur “between those who see convergence simply as a
technological development driven by newly available digital tools and others who say convergence must be defined in terms of fundamental changes in story telling” (Dailey, Demo et al. 2003). The authors also claim that the lack of a precise definition poses problems for researchers trying to study how communication theories such as gatekeeping and innovation diffusion apply to new media as well as creates difficulties for professionals developing converged news operations.
Convergence is “some combination of technologies, products, staffs and geography amongst the previously distinct provinces of print, television and online media” (Singer 2004:3). The process includes “(increasing) cooperation and collaboration between formerly distinct media newsrooms and other parts of the modern media company” (Deuze 2007:140).
According to Garcia Avilés (2008), it is possible to analyse the phenomenon from at least four perspectives: technological, managerial, communicative and professional and that “all the four perspectives of convergence mentioned are undoubtedly present in the implementation of any converged newsroom.” However, most of the research found focuses on the professional perspective and none focuses on communicative aspect.
From professional aspect, convergence is reshaping the landscape of journalism in a variety of ways. Pavlik (2004:28) says: “newsroom structures, journalistic practices and news content are all evolving”.
Saltzis and Dickinson (2008), who study news production and the impact of media convergence - “the trend towards news reporting in more than one medium in formerly single-medium organisations”- on the practices of journalists, claim:
“Although journalism and the production of news have been widely analysed, discussions about the impact of new technologies and new systems of working have commonly been conducted from a distance. Sociological perspectives on news production have provided frameworks to help us comprehend the complexities of cultural production and the constraints encountered by journalists and their impact on the final product of news, but in contemporary studies of journalism the voices of journalists are surprisingly seldom heard.”
“From the perspective of those on the inside”, the authors examine some of the recent changes in modern converged multimedia newsrooms and the ways
journalists are reacting to them. They concluded that that while multimedia news is becoming well established, the multimedia journalist has been slow to arrive. This study mainly discusses the individual journalists’ practices such as gathering information, writing and publishing rather than the communicative collaboration between journalists in each newsroom. Also, the scope of the research, with interviews with an average of 5 journalists from each news house, is indeed “a modest attempt” as the authors claim. Therefore, even though this study helps inform my research design, its theoretical role remains minor.
Also interested in newsroom convergence, Dupagne and Garrison (2006) find that journalists view media convergence and its impact in the newsroom primarily as a tool to produce either combined or additional newsgathering resources. The interviewed journalists feel that they now concentrate more on multimedia storytelling and have increased their level of knowledge of the other two platforms. In terms of training, respondents stress the importance of strong fundamentals, such as writing, reporting, and communication skills, but also emphasize the importance of cross-media adaptability for individuals preparing for careers in convergent newsrooms.
In another attempt to look at newsroom convergence from a professional perspective, Aviles and Meier, et al. (2009) developed a convergence matrix for analysis and comparison of integrated newsrooms. According to the authors, the matrix related to “four essential areas of development in a media convergence process: project scope, newsroom management, journalistic practices, work organization”. Based on this matrix, the authors draw three models of newsroom convergence: full integration, cross-media and co-ordination of isolated platforms. However, using six convergent media houses in Austria, Germany and Spain as case studies, the authors concluded that “none of these models exist, of course, in their “pure form”, and no media company analysed is absolutely dedicated to full integration, cross-media collaboration or isolated newsrooms. Most convergence experiences can be attributed to one or other model as an idea, strategy or even philosophy”. Still, the authors hope their matrix/models will be helpful to restructure strategic considerations and to develop convergence concepts.
Despite not finding any news organisation that totally fits one of their models, the authors find out some interesting data. They believe that:
“from the journalistic perspective, convergence and newsroom integration generate fundamental changes in news production and organization. Digital systems allow journalists to share data (audio, video and text) in order to elaborate content for the various platforms with increasing versatility. At integrated newsrooms, multi- skilled journalists produce news for at least two platforms: print, radio, television, mobile devices and the Internet. This varied work for several platforms may lead to more creative journalistic story-telling but also to a growing pressure on editors and reporters.”
Like Saltzis and Dickinson (2008), Aviles, Meier, et al (2009) find out that even though the levels of integration/convergence in their case studies are different, the multi-skills of journalists are not generally high.
Despite the geographical spreading, Aviles, Meier, et al (2009) research was based on only two-day period observation which also including time for interviews with (“at least”) two interviews with each newsroom. I do not oppose to the study’s results, but am concerned whether the generated data were sufficient. Also, it was not clear from the article how the author came up with the matrix. Still, the matrix helps to some extent with my research design as a general reference and as a confirmation of the need to do a study like mine. In return, my research will hopefully bring new elements to help particularize and evaluate these models of newsroom convergence as the authors suggest.
Quinn (2005) believes that media managers adopt convergence with two main goals in mind: improving the quality of journalism and tightening production costs. From management's point of view, the most frequent strategies are collaboration and partnership among the different media. Thus, managers have used convergence in order to achieve more efficient multiplatform news production and improve performance.
Meier (2007) looked at modern newsroom models in Central European countries, especially Austria, Germany and Switzerland and found that editorial job divisions, routines and work practices in newspaper and news agency newsrooms have been revolutionized by the management’s bridging traditional barriers between departments and introducing more flexible structures. Large and open newsrooms, for example, are now becoming increasingly popular. The author suggests that modernized newsrooms can increase speed and journalistic quality. At the same time building structure and space play an important role in the
innovations process of a newsroom. There are significant correlations between satisfaction with the work site and the assessment of rising quality.
Dailey, Demo et al. (2003) examine the newsroom convergence’s nature on the assumption of evolving degrees of interaction and co-operation among cross- media partners and whether the media are owned by common or separate companies. In order to fill “a void in the research on convergence and for extending research into gatekeeping and diffusion of innovation” (p. 150), these authors establish a conceptual framework - “the Convergence Continuum Model” (figure 10 below) - with operational definitions of the various levels in that model. Within this framework, news convergence is defined as “a series of behaviour- based activities illustrating the interaction and co-operation levels of staff members at newspapers, television stations and Web organizations with news partnership” (p.150). The authors hope the dynamic continuum's components will provide media professionals with a touchstone as they develop cross-media alliances.
Each of the Convergence Continuum Model’s levels comprises a series of tasks and processes, most of which are of communication nature – interacting, sharing information and exchanging ideas. It can be interpreted from this model that it measures the level of convergence by examining merely whether or not the interaction, sharing and exchanging take place, not how they take place.
FIGURE 3: Convergence Continuum
3.3. The limits of news production, media convergence and media management