Week Two: Why And How Convergence Is Emerging

Quinn, S. (2005). Chapter 2: “Why and how convergence is emerging” in Convergent Journalism: The fundamentals of multi-media reporting New York: Peter Lang. Available in Deakin library as an e-reading.

This chapter looked at the various components involved when creating a convergent journalism environment, such as the need for strong communication between different media platforms, the increasing fragmentation of the audience and the introduction of new technologies. Throughout this extremely long reading (25 pages!) Quinn explained that many media organizations have decided to integrate, not only for the economic and financial benefits, or to encourage journalists to do more work, but mostly as ‘a way to serve the community’ (2005).

By allowing different media forms such as print, radio, television and online to merge, the audience is able to locate the news or information that they want, and access the information at their convenience- with many opting to get their news online for free (the chapter covered in much detail the reasons why more people are turning to the internet for news- mostly to do with accessibility and people’s ‘disposable time’ (or lack of free time)). This availability of information would otherwise be impossible if convergence didn’t exist and the audience had to rely on one medium (for example, the evening television news) to provide the information.

The chapter also looks to the editors of newspapers and websites to reinforce the views that convergent journalism is the key to the future of journalism.

As the chief editor of a newspaper in Hong Kong, Paul Cheung, stated: ‘The integrated newsroom is the newsroom of the future’ (2005). Quinn explores this thoroughly in the chapter, with his close analysis of the different techniques and technologies that newsrooms are introducing to cope with such a dramatic change. Journalists need to adopt and embrace these new ways of dealing with newsgathering and sharing information if they want to survive in the new era of media convergence.