Convergence Newsletter
From Newsplex at the
Vol. V
No. 2 (August 2007)
Commenting on Convergence
By Melissa McGill, editor of The
Convergence Newsletter
In this
issue, Augie Grant contributes several articles. The first features a preview
of the exciting events taking place at the
Also, be
sure to look for "converged candy" sponsored by The Convergence Newsletter at the AEJMC Annual Convention in
Melissa
McGill is working toward a Master of Mass Communications at the
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Feature Articles
Gannett
CEO Craig Dubow to Keynote Convergence Conference
Lessons
from the Keyboard
Book
Review: Branded Entertainment
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Conference Information and Calls
for Papers
AEJMC
Convergence
and Society: Media Ownership, Control, and Consolidation
Online
Fundamentals for Newsroom Leaders
Call for
Papers—Special Issue of International Journal on Media Management
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---------------Feature Articles
Gannett CEO Craig Dubow to Keynote Convergence Conference
By Augie Grant, Executive Editor
of The Convergence Newsletter
Convergence
efforts at Gannett Corporation will be in the spotlight during USC's "Convergence and Society" conference,
October 11-13 in
The theme
of the conference is "Media Ownership, Control, and Consolidation, with
research papers, panels, and demonstrations exploring dimensions of convergence
including practical perspectives, regulatory analyses, international
perspectives, cultural approaches, and teaching convergent journalism.
The
conference opens at 1:00 PM, Thursday, October 11th with a set of sessions
exploring practical and regulatory issues at Newsplex, including Carroll's
presentation on the Gannett NewsCenters. Thursday ends
with our keynote speaker, Gannett Corporation Chairman Craig Dubow, who will also be participating in Thursday
afternoon's sessions. Friday features a
full day of sessions ranging from theoretical and cultural perspectives to
practical demonstrations. Saturday’s schedule includes a set of sessions on
teaching convergent journalism, with adjournment at
Here are
a few of the more provocative titles from the agenda:
May I have a bandage please? A decade on the bleeding edge of teaching convergence.
Copyrights and convergence:
Enabling, limiting, motivating, and/or inhibiting? Implications
of current trends in intellectual property law and policy on a converging
society.
Benjamin Bates,
Matching new media content and use
to personality and leadership traits. Tony DeMars,
Making sense of convergence
journalism in
Marrying the multimedia mandate
with the industry diversity challenge?: A multi-method
assessment of convergence at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
George Daniels,
The full
agenda can be viewed at USC's Newsplex Web site: http://Newsplex.sc.edu.
As in
previous years, we are holding a pre-conference, mini-Newsplex training session
on Thursday morning, October 11th, from
The
conference also includes USC's "Showcase of
Convergent Media Processes and Practices," offering practical insight into
tools, techniques, and teaching convergent journalism. Early registration for
the conference is $125, which includes the Thursday reception and dinner, and
Friday's lunch. To see the complete agenda or to get more information on the
conference, please visit the Newsplex Web site:
http://Newsplex.sc.edu.
For questions about the conference, please contact
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Lessons from the Keyboard
By Augie Grant,
Executive Editor of The Convergence Newsletter
Over the
past two years, I've been working with colleagues to integrate the wide range
of research, practice, and perspectives on convergent journalism to create two
complementary books. The first is a textbook, Principles of Convergent Journalism (with
As these
books are going to press, I've had the opportunity to examine a wide range of
lessons I learned from this process. The
following is a list of the most significant, top-of-mind lessons leaned in
retrospect from the creation of these two books.
Lesson #1: Avoid "convergence."
Almost
every piece of research that we studied in preparing these books detailed a
specific definition of the term, "convergence," but few of these
definitions were the same. As with other generic terms such as "love"
and "broadband," the word "convergence" is used to convey
meaning specific to the user, but these individual definitions may not
correspond to those in the minds of readers. The solution we used was
simple: Whenever possible, we attempted
to replace the generic term "convergence" with a more specific,
descriptive term, such as "crossownership,"
"collaboration," "multiplatform journalism,"
"multimedia journalism," etc.
So, you
might ask, why use the term "convergence" in the title of both books?
As nebulous as it is, "Convergence" is a useful term to represent the
wide range of ideas and behaviors that are changing newsrooms and the practice
of journalism. Administrators know that they need "convergence" in
their programs (even if they can't define it), and send faculty to the Newsplex convergence training and to the annual conferences
so that they can bring "it" back to their campuses. The term
therefore remains useful as a catch-all. Consider, for example, the wide range
of research described above for USC's
"Convergence and Society" conference in October, with sessions
ranging from popular culture and regulatory issues to theory and the practice
of convergent journalism.
The term
"convergence" is appropriate term to identify this global set of
processes and concerns, but it should probably not be used to identify a
specific process in journalism or variable in research. I shudder every time I
see a research project that directly asks whether someone is practicing
"convergence"—the answer is invariably "yes," but it is
also invariably uninformative.
Lesson #2: The Audience is Converged
Over the
past seven years, the majority of research on convergent journalism processes
and practices has focused on news production processes. But, over the past two
years, the proportion of research devoted to the audience is increasing.
Studies such as
The
increasing popularity of user-generated content is another dimension of the
degree to which the audience may be considered to be "converged." Increased attention to the role that a person's media repertoire
plays in how they glean information from the media is needed in both research
and teaching.
Lesson #3: Inertia is a Powerful Force—and Impediment
An
examination of research on the wide range of processes described in the
teaching and practice of convergent journalism indicates that changing
behaviors, culture, and attitudes toward "other" media is a difficult
process that is impeded by the inertia of existing systems. Faculty
who have only taught (or have experience) in one medium (print or broadcast)
are even more resistant to acquiring skills in "competing" media than
journalists themselves. The irony is that the research also demonstrates that,
once initial resistance is overcome, there is usually little problem integrating
techniques specific to another medium within a reporter's basic skill set of
interviewing, writing, and editing.
Inertia
is an impediment outside the newsroom as well.
Lesson #4: Start with a Strong Foundation
One
characteristic that successful programs in converged journalism have in common
is a focus on the basics: Interviewing,
writing, editing, verification, ethics, etc. Regardless of the type of
convergence, these basic skills remain at the heart of the practice of
journalism. The time and effort needed to teach medium-specific skills to a
student studying multiplatform journalism is significant, but it much less
important than the time, effort, and practice at these journalism basics.
These
top-of-mind lessons are not comprehensive, but rather reflect ideas that are
forefront in my thoughts after spending the past few years engulfed in the
study of convergent journalism. My guess is that I'll have a different list a
year from now; one that will be influenced by new research and by the
maturation of the set of phenomena we refer to when we use the term
"convergence."
As I put
these two books to bed and look for my next challenge, my thoughts keep
returning to the observations about the history of journalism education that
Tim Bajkiewicz shared in his contribution (summarized
in his April 2007
article in this newsletter). Over the century since journalism education was
formalized in the
(Note:
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Book Review: Branded
Entertainment
By Augie Grant, Executive Editor
of The Convergence Newsletter
This
newsletter focuses primarily on convergent journalism, but we've also taken the
liberty of expanding our conceptions of convergence a few times a year. Such an
opportunity presented itself when we were asked to review a new book on product
placement from Jean-Marc Lehu, Branded Entertainment: Product Placement & Brand Strategy in the
Entertainment Business. (
This book
provides the most detailed examination to date of the convergence of
advertising and media content represented by product placement. The primary
strength of the book is the manner in which it integrates large numbers of
examples of product placement in a variety of media with systematic research on
economics and impact of product placement. As expected, there are chapters on
history, legal and ethical issues, practical considerations, and the future
trajectory of the practice of produce placement.
The
primary weakness in the book is that it presumes that product placement is an
accepted practice throughout the media, offering comparatively little discussion
of the ethical challenges that emanate from a producer's desire to manipulate a
plot or setting in order to help finance production. In an age of DVRs and
commercial avoidance, product placement may indeed be unavoidable, but a more
comprehensive discussion of the ethical implications of product placement would
have strengthened the book.
Journalists
may find it interesting that the practice has worked its way into some
newsrooms, specifically in the wardrobe credits that sometimes accompany
television newscasts, but that is the extent of the direct relevance to the
practice of journalism—so far.
So why
should a journalist care? Branded
Entertainment provides a clear indication of how the economic basis of many
media is changing. If we presume that journalists' salaries are paid in part by
advertising revenues, some understanding of the role that product placement
will play in the future is critical for managers, publishers, and others
responsible for making sure that revenues exceed expenses. On a more basic
level, product placement represents a convergence in advertising that is as
important to that field as multiplatform journalism is to traditional
journalism. This is a well-timed book that provides insight and perspective using
abundant illustrations.
(Editor’s Note: We review and
publicize books related to convergence in all its forms. Please send descriptions
of your books, along with information about publishers and availability to: convergence-editor@mailbox.sc.edu.
Or you can send a copy of a book to be reviewed to this address)
The Convergence Newsletter
c/o Augie Grant
We look forward to reviewing your
book!
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---------------Conferences and
Calls for Papers
AEJMC
http://www.aejmc.org/_events/convention/program/index.php
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Convergence
and Society: Media Ownership, Control, and Consolidation
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Online
Fundamentals for Newsroom Leaders
Poynter
Deadline:
http://www.poynter.org/seminar/seminar_view.asp?int_seminarID=4269
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Call for
Papers—Special Issue of International Journal on Media Management
Deadline
http://www.jmm.bwl.uni-muenchen.de/
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International
Conference on Information & Communications Technology
“Media
Convergence: Moving to the Next Generation"
Information
Technology Institute
December
16-18, 2007
http://www.icict.gov.eg/ICICT2007/index.html
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BEA 2008:
The New Communications Frontiers
April
16-19, 2008
Call for
Papers deadline: December 3, 2007
http://www.beaweb.org/bea2008/index.html
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---------------Publisher and
Editorial Staff
The Convergence Newsletter is free and published by The
College of Mass Communications and Information Studies at the
Executive
Editor
Augie
Grant, Ph.D.
Editor
Melissa
McGill
convergence-news@mailbox.sc.edu
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---------------Copyright and
Redistribution
The Convergence Newsletter is Copyright © 2007 by the
This
newsletter may be redistributed in any form - print or electronic - without
edits or deletion of any content.
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