The
Convergence Newsletter
From
Newsplex at the University of South Carolina
Vol. III
No. 4 (October 6, 2005)
Commenting
on Convergence
By
Jordan Storm, editor of The Convergence Newsletter
Throughout
the past month, journalists and non-journalists alike have used new
technologies to cover Hurricane Katrina in creative ways. Evoking strong
responses in audience members, Katrina coverage has resulted in what Jay Rosen
calls deliberative dialogue, public problem solving, cooperative and
complementary action and, finally, the value of hope, understood as a renewable
resource in the public (Public Journalism: Theory and Practice, 1997, p.14).
This
issue of The Convergence Newsletter tracks some of the ways media convergence is helping to
redefine the field of journalism. Susan Robinson of Temple University remarks
on the shifting roles of citizen and journalist in her critique of Hurricane
Katrina coverage, while Elliot Masie, president of The MASIE Center, provides a
first-hand account of his experiences at CNN the day after Katrina hit. Former
photojournalist Colin Mulvany also shares the lessons he learned while
transitioning into a full-time role as video journalist for The
Spokesman-Review’s
Web site. In the final article, Jan Shaffer describes how the new J-Learning
Web site provides a ‘how-to’ guide to design and launch a community news Web
site, opening up what Sue Robinson calls new gateways for new journalists.
Next week
we will be in Provo, Utah gathering the latest research at the Media Convergence
Conference. If you will be
attending the conference, please stop and chat with us; we would love to hear
your thoughts regarding the newsletter, especially how we can make it a better
resource for you.
On a
purely practical note, to eliminate readability issues, subscribers of the
newsletter will receive the full text of the issue by e-mail each month. Previously an abbreviated newsletter
was issued with links to the full text.
Past newsletters can be viewed at http://www.jour.sc.edu/news/convergence/.
Jordan
Storm is working toward a Master of Arts degree at the University of South
Carolina. Contact her at convergence-editor@mailbox.sc.edu.
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Feature
Articles
Technology
and Katrina: How Gatekeepers are Becoming Gateways
Rapid
Development...Content Objects...Learning Implications: Special Report: CNN
Newsroom in
the Midst of Katrina
Making
the Transition from Photojournalist to Vlogger: Convergence in Practice
There’s a
Lot You Can Learn at J-Learning.org
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Conference
Information
Media
Convergence Conference: Cooperation, Collisions and Change
Society
of Professional Journalists Convention & National Journalism Conference
Association
for Women in Communications 2005 Professional Conference
Citizens
Media Summit
2005
Online News Association Conference
Ifra/WAN/FIPP
World Digital Publishing Conference: Beyond the Printed Word
Southern
Newspaper Publishers Association Annual Convention
What’s
Next for Online: Seminar for Senior-Level Executives
Citizen
Media: Engaging an Empowered Audience
BEA2006:
Convergence Shockwave
World
Editors Forum
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---------------Feature
Articles
Technology
and Katrina: How Gatekeepers are Becoming Gateways
By Sue
Robinson, Ph.D. student, Temple University
Hurricane
Katrina blew into the Gulf coast and knocked out printing presses and network
signals. Local reporters and photographers penned and clicked nevertheless,
their products appearing in cyberspace. But, there in that virtual world, they
were joined by … well … everybody. The resulting Web journalism further
obfuscated the delineation between news producers and their audiences that
first began blurring after the convergence seen in the wake of 9/11.
The staff
of the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and other publications turned to their Web sites to
report what was happening, as the reporters became characters even in their own
stories. Online, citizens were asked for their stories and photos, joining
“real” journalism in side-by-side blogs. In the last Convergence Newsletter, Thomas Ruggiero called this
latter phenomenon “amateur journalism.” But, the trends occurring from within
these traditional journalism publications reflect more fundamental shifts in
traditional concepts and understandings of media and audience roles.
Much of
the shift can be attributed to technology. Just as print standards evolved in
part because of the telegraph (and television objectives in part because of the
broadcast medium), Web journalism is shaped by Internet attributes,
particularly multimedia and interactivity. Where once the focus of the
journalistic mission centered on instrumental and informative roles, today the
purpose also incorporates creating a space for dialogue, experience and
connection. Some of these new concepts can be found in Mark Deuze’s online
journalism model, which suggests that the platform of news publications
incorporates a dialogic, monitorial function. He wrote in 2003: “The content of
a news medium is fully maintained by journalists interacting with citizens. In
other words, a strict division no longer necessarily remains between producers
and consumers of news content, as all become ‘prosumers.’”**
Consider
the sharing of harrowing tales posted on the Times-Picayune Web site in forums provided by
the publication. In these virtual rooms, people called out for missing loved
ones, offered help from different states, and related both victim and survivor
stories as if in a tête-à-tête over the campfire. Some of the most
heartbreaking posts were of trapped doctors in hospitals or elderly
grandparents waiting on roofs to be evacuated (relayed by relatives). It was
the drama of news broadcasts in real time, without the filters of hours,
editors and space.
What
transpired on the J-blogs ended up changing the course of the news events
themselves (the progress of reality really). This entry is from September 14, 2005 on a Times-Picayune partner, Nola.com: “During the
events immediately following the flood, a small group of people (including
myself) noticed the rescue requests appearing on this site as well as
craigslist and began providing this information to a Search and Rescue team
working in New Orleans. I have come to find out this team actually evacuated
more than 5 people using the messages on NOLA for guidance.”
Where
were the journalists? They were there too, note taking right online, telling of
adventures themselves, of narrow escapes and problems with survival and
“eye-witness” reports. Reporter blogs unsheathed the normally cloaked
institutional news gathering process. Videos and audiotapes available on the
site provided yet another layer to the news event for the newspaper.
And yet,
it is not as if the typical journalism of hard news was absent. The hard-news
stories, complete with their inverted pyramid formulaic writing and the
official sources, also appeared. In fact, an electronic version of the Times-Picayune
was produced
– and it looked exactly like the newspaper would have. Readers could
download the entire 15-20-page edition each day into a PDF file for leisurely
perusal over bacon and eggs. Who needs printing presses?
So
traditional journalism is making room for something else, and lots of something
elses. It seems as if convergence is leading not so much to multiple
journalisms (though I wouldn’t disagree with this oft-repeated illumination)
but rather to an amorphous, dis-institutional journalism in which citizens can
report and journalists can be citizens. It would be wise to remember a comment
made by Deuze in that 2003 piece that when you change any part of the beast,
the beast itself is changed. Perhaps this means that existing standards will
need to change. Perhaps current expectations must be altered. We are of course
still much too early in this evolution to understand how it will all play out. But
for now, we can certainly say that the gatekeeper has become more of a gateway.
** Deuze, M. (2003). The web and its journalisms: Considering
the consequences of different types of news media online. New Media &
Society, 5(2), 203-230.
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Rapid
Development ... Content Objects ... Learning Implications:
Special
Report: CNN Newsroom in the Midst of Katrina
By
Elliott Masie, President of The MASIE Center, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
(Originally
printed August 31, 2005 in the Learning TRENDS Newsletter, www.masie.com)
(Atlanta - August 30) I spent a powerful
morning at CNN Headquarters here in Atlanta. The trip had been scheduled for
several weeks in order to prepare for the Learning Innovations award that we
will present to CNN at Learning 2005 later this fall.
It turned
out that the visit happened one day after Katrina hit the Gulf coast and the
news tempo turned to "breaking news" with real time news content
flowing at an incredible pace.
There
were some incredible learnings and observations as I quietly watched the news
gathering and assembly process and interviewed the Learning team at CNN. Many
of these items relate directly to how organizations will be assembling content
in the near future:
* Content
From Multiple and Unconventional Sources: The nature of content in journalism
is changing dramatically as media flows from non-traditional sources. CNN calls
an aspect of this "citizen journalism", as they receive pictures and
video feeds from digital cameras and even mobile phones. While I was standing
in the newsroom, there were hundreds of citizen journalists feeding content in
real time. Each had to be categorized, verified and placed into context.
Ironically, many viewers actually see the amateur content as having high
credibility, given its non-professional nature. Context is high and the
challenge is to integrate this informal content with produced segments.
* Content
To Multiple Formats: As content was created in the CNN newsroom, it flowed to
multiple formats. Content started as video feeds, became streamed video, text
on the Web site and even a mention for a scroll at the bottom of the screen.
Each piece of content was "tagged" as it came into the newsroom;
timecoded, meta-tags were added with context to be viewed by CNN staff around
the world in low-res format. The concept was to see each media object as being
highly reusable and redeployable.
* Digital
News Gathering: The footprint and format for news production is changing radically
as the size and mobility of equipment evolve. I watched newsfeeds coming from
CNN reporters using satellite phones (after the cell network dropped). They
were even feeding content that was edited on laptops in the field using Final
Cut Pro. The reduction in equipment has allowed content to be created and
advanced in the field rather than back at headquarters.
* Content
Repository: CNN operates a content and media repository that is quite
impressive. The content objects are viewable, editable and sharable. Key levels
of data are kept for how each object is being used and deployed. Digital Rights
Management is tracked, to honor the appropriate use of each media object. I was
struck by how easily every CNN staff person could access and work with these content
repositories.
*
Learning for Performance: The CNN Technology Training team integrates learning
about these systems with training on their work processes and methods. Their
learning programs focused on the combination of systems knowledge, team work/collaboration
and newsroom work processes. Most of the trainers were seasoned newsroom
professionals and they provided this intensive training to everyone, including
the CNN anchors. I saw the anchors personally accessing the same content and
"flow systems" during short breaks from their on-camera segments.
* Rapid
Development: While CNN clearly has a breaking news model, it was fascinating to
watch this process in action including: Use of templates, collaborative and
team based editing and content refinement, focus on content ethics and
standards and legal/compliance issues. I witnessed a team of professionals,
drawn from a wide set of backgrounds, deeply focused on producing content that
had value for viewers and the hurricane's victims.
CNN will
be presented the Learning Innovations Award later this month at Learning 2005
in Orlando. Grace Dyson, leader for the CNN Technology Training team, will
review their learning approaches. I want to thank Grace and her team for
allowing me to witness their process in action on this sad day. I have more to
process from this field trip, but that will wait for another day.
Our
prayers are with Learning TRENDS colleagues and families in the path of the
horrible disaster. Donation for Katrina Relief can be made at http://www.redcross.org
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Making
the Transition from Photojournalist to Vlogger: Convergence in Practice
By
Colin Mulvany, video journalist for The Spokesman-Review’s Web site, http://www.spokesmanreview.com/,
Spokane, WASH., USA
At The
Spokesman-Review,
convergence has arrived with a twist. Three months ago, I was a still
photojournalist with 17 years of experience at the paper. In June, I left that
part of my career behind, venturing into the world of video and multimedia
storytelling fulltime. I am one of only a handful of video journalists in the
U.S. producing exclusive content for newspapers’ online Web sites.
Lately,
there has been a lot of buzz about vlogs or video blogs on the Web. Broadband
penetration in larger markets has allowed anyone with a video camera and free
editing and blogging software to post self-produced videos. As I look at the
content of most of these vlogs, I find them to be lacking one important
element–storytelling. The videos tend to be poorly shot and edited,
containing only snippets of some facet of a vlogger’s life.
These
weaknesses have not prevented me from joining the vlogosphere. When I was given
the chance to work full-time creating video content for Spokesmanreview.com, I
struggled with how best to display my work. With all the industry talk about
newsroom transparency, I felt that the vlog format might work best. Blogs have
become an important part of Spokesmanreview.com’s online content. At the end of
July my Video Journal vlog went live. Video Journal might be the first true newspaper produced vlog in
the country. I posted the last 10 videos I had produced and wrote a little
about each one.
The
response has been positive from both viewers and colleagues. For me, it has
been a learning experience like no other. I have read everything I could find
about the process of video production. Last March, my newspaper sent me to the
Platypus Workshop, an intensive nine-day video production boot camp. It helped
me fill in the gaps of knowledge that I could not find in a manual. The paper
also invested $20,000 in a laundry list of essential video gathering related
equipment. Having the proper tools has made my transition to multimedia easier.
I am beginning to discover what the best stories to tell are and which to avoid
- I find intimate stories with one subject work best.
My goal
is to produce two three-five minute videos a week as well as one other
multimedia Flash based project using still photography and audio. The way it
works now is I have a shoot day, then an edit day. On video feature stories, I
need more time to edit. Breaking news means I have to make it all happen by the
end of my shift. Sometimes I will post a news video that is a rough edit. I
then re-post it as soon as I have a final cut version ready.
It seems
our local TV news stations spend most of their airtime with reporters telling
viewers about a story. Instead, my video essays let the subjects tell the
story. I add a voice over narrative only when necessary. The storytelling is
intimate and more introspective.
So what
advice would I give other reporters or photojournalists who want create video
content for their newspaper’s Web site?
Support. Without the complete support of
your publication, success will be hard to come by. My foray into video
production has the support, in both words and resources, from the publisher on
down through the newsroom management.
Training. In order to do video production
right, video journalists must commit to time intensive training. I can’t stress
enough the importance of attending workshops like the Platypus, because without
proper training, most video storytelling looks unprofessional and amateurish.
Commitment. This is new ground for everyone.
There has to be a willingness to take chances with every story produced.
Experiment. Find what stories work best in your community. I believe it is
important for papers to invest in committed employees who want to learn to do
multimedia for online. One day, all these skills will just be expected and the
trailblazers will be relied on to help train the next wave of multimedia
journalists.
I believe
video will eventfully become a big part of newspapers’ online content. The
discussion of convergence for so long has been about how to re-purpose local TV
news content for use on a newspaper’s online Web site. Why bother? With proper
training, newspaper photojournalists and reporters can produce better video
stories than local TV news. Video will also help stem the loss of readers from
the newspaper by keeping them in their online family. As broadband technology
improves, so will the way in which online viewers will expect to get their news
and information. At Spokesmanreivew.com, that future has already arrived.
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There’s
a lot you can learn at J-Learning.org
By Jan
Schaffer, Executive Director, J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism
While
anyone can publish on the Web, many community-publishing newbies suffer from
varying degrees of technophobia.
J-Learning.org,
a new “how-to” site, walks newcomers, step by step, through the process of
designing and launching a community news site. Produced by J-Lab at the
University of Maryland, J-Learning also offers suggestions on how to start
becoming self-supporting.
Early
signs are that it is a welcome addition. In its first month, the site has
already attracted a couple thousand users who were visiting, on average, 20
pages per visit — a healthy sojourn.
The Web
site offers 20 chapters and more than 60 subsections of basic skills training
on how to plan a community news Web site, build it, use the latest
off-the-shelf software to add interactive online features, market it and track
users.
We’ve
tried hard to avoid jargony Web-speak that intimidates many, and we’ve tried to
explain all the terms we do use. If users don’t understand one of the site’s
tutorials, they can post a question or a comment and we’ll find the answer.
While
J-Learning was created to provide technical assistance to fledgling citizen
media ventures, we expect that the site will also prove useful to a couple of
other audiences: small journalism programs that are trying to teach new media
skills, and small-market news organizations where a Web-savvy copy editor or
reporter may be tapped to be the new media person.
J-Learning
was created as part of J-Lab's "New Voices"
project, a $1 million initiative funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
New Voices is a pioneering program that is helping fund the start-up of 20
micro-local news projects with $12,000 grants and foster their sustainability
through $5,000 second-year matching grants.
J-Learning
offers basic training in Web site creation, HTML, page design and use of
photos, audio, video, animation, surveys and databases.
Early
feedback has been positive: “As one who has just started to dabble with HTML, I
found your presentation (1) demystifying; (2) graphically effective,” offered
Jack Driscoll, Editor-in-Residence at MIT’s Media Lab who helped launch the
Melrose (MA) Silver Stringers community site.
J-Lab’s
staff edited the site’s content. Reporting and researching J-Learning’s topics
were Hop Studios' Susannah Gardner and
Travis Smith, partners in the Vancouver Internet consulting firm. Gardner is
the author of Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies (buzzmarketingblogs.com),
published in March 2005, and co-author of two other Internet-publishing guides:
Dreamweaver MX 2004 for Dummies and Teach Yourself Visually: Dreamweaver MX 2004.
Travis F.
Smith has been a long-time online journalism lecturer in the Annenberg School
at the University of Southern California and previously helped to run
Variety.com and the Los Angeles Times Web site.
J-Learning
contributes to J-Lab’s mission, which is to help news organizations and
citizens use new information ideas and innovative computer technologies to
develop new ways for people to engage in public issues. In addition to
supporting community media ventures, J-Lab spotlights interactive news
exercises and rewards cutting-edge innovations through its annual Batten Awards
for Innovations in Journalism. J-Lab is a center of the University of
Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
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---------------Conferences
Conference
on Media Convergence: Cooperation, Collisions and Change
Co-sponsored
by Brigham Young University and the University of South Carolina
October
13-15, 2005, Provo, Utah, USA
Now in
its fourth year, the purpose of this annual conference is to provide a
scholarly forum for the presentation of theory, research and practice related
to media convergence. A showcase of convergent media practices will run
concurrent with the academic conference. For registration and further
information about this academic conference or the showcase, visit the
conference Web site at http://convergence.byu.edu.
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Society
of Professional Journalists Convention & National Journalism Conference
Oct.
16-18, 2005
Las
Vegas, USA
The
Society of Professional Journalists’ National Convention offers members and the
journalism community an opportunity to reflect on the industry and to engage in
thought-provoking, stimulating and hands-on training. Reporters, editors,
educators and students from across the U.S. and several foreign nations will
make this event a top priority.
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The
Association for Women in Communications 2005 Professional Conference
October
20-22, 2005
Lubbock,
Texas, USA
The
Association for Women in Communications is a professional organization that
champions the advancement of women across all communication disciplines by
recognizing excellence, promoting leadership and positioning its members at the
forefront of the evolving communications era.
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Citizens
Media Summit
October
24, 2005
University
of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
http://www.j-newvoices.org/index.php/site/story/citizens_media_summit/
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2005
Online News Association Conference
October
28-29, 2005-October 29, 2005
New York,
New York, USA
http://www.onlinenewsassociation.org/news/archives/000144.php
The
conference will explore topics such as Defining Online Journalism, What’s Still
New in New Media, Participatory Journalism – What’s That all About?, Web
Analystics, Working Without a Net and a Blogging ‘how-to.’
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Ifra/WAN/FIPP
World Digital Publishing Conference
Beyond
the Printed Word
November
10-11, 2005
Madrid,
Spain
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Southern
Newspaper Publishers Association Annual Convention
November
13-16, 2005
Palm
Beach, FL, USA
http://www.snpa.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=CircuitMeetings.meeting&meet=annual%20convention
The 2005
SNPA Convention program will focus on important changes in the newspaper
industry and enormous opportunities that these changes present. SNPA spotlights
newspaper companies that are redefining the news business, competing
successfully in the digital world, and seizing new technologies to grow
readership and profits.
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The
Poynter Institute
What’s
Next for Online: Seminar for Senior-Level Executives
December
1-3, 2005
St.
Petersburg, FL, USA
http://www.poynter.org/seminar/seminar_view.asp?int_seminarID=3590
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American
Press Institute and J-Lab
Citizen
Media: Engaging an Empowered Audience
April
4-5, 2006
Reston,
Virginia, USA
http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/06/Citizen/
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Broadcast
Education Association
Convergence
Shockwave: Change, Challenge and Opportunity
April
27-29, 2006
Las
Vegas, USA
The
BEA2006 Conference aims to create a forum for discussion and research on the
issues that face media convergence today. The deadline for research papers is
December 2, 2005.
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World
Association of Newspapers
World
Editors Forum
June 4-7,
2006
Moscow,
Russia
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---------------Announcements/News
Publishing
a Book about Convergence? The Convergence Newsletter regularly publishes information
about new and upcoming books on convergent journalism. Send your submissions to
convergence-editor@mailbox.sc.edu.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
---------------Publisher
and Editorial Staff
The
Convergence Newsletter is free and published by The College of Mass Communications and
Information Studies at the University of South Carolina.
Executive
Editor
Augie
Grant, Ph.D.
Editor
Jordan
Storm
convergence-news@mailbox.sc.edu
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---------------Copyright
and Redistribution
The
Convergence Newsletter is Copyright © 2005 by the University of South Carolina, College of
Mass Communications and Information Studies. All rights reserved.
This
newsletter may be redistributed in any form - print or electronic - without
edits or deletion of any content.
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---------------Submission
Guidelines/Deadline Schedule
The
Convergence Newsletter provides an editorially neutral forum for discussion of the
theoretical and professional meaning of media convergence. We welcome articles
of all sorts addressing the subject of convergence in journalism and media. We
also accept news briefs, calls for papers and conference announcements. Our
audience is both academics and professionals, and the publication style is APA
7th edition. Feature articles should be 750 to 1,500 words; other articles
should be 250 to 750 words; announcements and conference submissions should be
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Please include your name, affiliation and contact information with your
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The
Convergence Newsletter is published the first week of each month (except January). Articles
should be submitted at least 10 days prior to the publication date. Any
questions should be sent to convergence-editor@mailbox.sc.edu.
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---------------Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Information
To
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