The advent of digital technology in the past decade has altered the analog practices media firms operating in the fields such as journalism, public relations, and advertising. According to academic scholarship, digital technology transformed media production, distribution, and reception. Among the most significant consequences of digital technology is the media convergence and audience participation (Wurfel, 2014, p. 2240). Henry Jenkins provides insights about convergence culture as it relates to audience participation in media production. He disputes the idea that convergence is limited to a technological process that brings media function to one device.
Conversely, he explains, “Convergence represents a cultural shift as consumers are encouraged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content” (Jenkins, 2006, p. 3). According to him, convergence culture is a change in the media landscape defined by the blurring of the boundaries between different media platforms and audience participation in the media content production, distribution, and reception/interpretation (Aref et al., 2023, p.700). Although the convergence culture is associated with the advent of digital technology, Jenkins suggests that convergence culture transcends the idea of new media usurping the old media but rather the mutual existence of the old and new media. Basically, Jenkins suggests that the convergence of new media technologies creates new platforms for creating and distributing new media content. That is, the mutual existence of old and new media has led to new texts and interactions between the media practitioners and audience in the production of the texts (Fehrle and Schafke-Zell, 2019, p.14). In the convergence culture, Jenkins (2006) notes that the power of the producer and consumers interact, content flows across different media platforms, and consumers look for novel information and make connections across dispersed media content (p. 3). This paper explores and discusses how the convergence culture shapes journalism work in digitized society and the implications and ethical issues associated with convergence culture.
The convergence culture is the notion of participatory culture, which states that media audience/consumers are not passive consumers of media content but active participants in content creation and dissemination (Aref et al., 2023; Jenkins, 2006). Jenkins (2006, p. 3) observes, “Participatory culture contrasts with older notions of passive media spectatorship; rather than talking about media producers and consumers as occupying separate roles, we might now see them as participants who interact with each other according to a new set of rules not fully understood.” This relates to media consumers engaging media through online discussions. Online media participation is a new concept facilitated by digital platforms that allow media content producers and consumers to engage in constant dialogue. In this way, it can be said that participatory culture influences the emergence of the convergence culture in the communication industry.
Jenkins (2006) also notes that convergence culture occurs within the brains of media audiences and their social interactions with their peers/others. He says consuming media content is a collective process, which he defines as collective intelligence. He explains, “None of us can know everything; each of us knows something, and we can put the pieces together if we pool our resources and combine our skills” (Jenkins, 2006, p. 4). Consequently, collective intelligence is a different source of media power that audiences use in their daily interaction in the convergence culture.
Convergence culture has also led to transmedia storytelling that uses a muthe lti-plaa tform approach that facilitates deeper naa rrative experience. Jenkins (2006, p. 21) defines transmedia storytelling as “The art of world making…that has emerged in response to media convergence.” He adds, “To experience any fictional world, consumers must assume the role of hunters and gatherers, chasing down bits of the story across media channels, comparing notes with each other via online discussion groups, and collaborating to ensure that everyone who invests effort will come away with a richer entertainment experience” (Jenkins, 2006, p. 21). This means that media consumers engage with text across media platforms to access additional information and share the same with others to enhance their enjoyment of the narratives (Aref et al., 2023, p. 701). Media companies are responding to this trend through multimedia platforms, as with the matrix franchise offered on different media platforms (Jenkins, 2006).
Lastly, Jenkins posits that economic, technological and cultural changes drive convergence culture. As Imoh and Ifeanyi (2023) explain, technological change relates to the emergence of digital technologies that allow the convergence of media content and content distribution systems. The economic change relates to the restructuring of the media industry whereby conventional media firms are compelled to embrace the realities of the new digital technologies. Finally, the change in cultural practices refers to how media consumers use emerging media platforms and technologies to participate in media content production and consumption (Imoh and Ifeanyi, 2023, p. 76).
The journalism industry has been particularly impacted by the convergence culture trend ever since the advent of the internet and the subsequent development of digital technologies. As Menke et al. (2018) explain, digital technologies have disrupted journalism globally in a way players did not expect. Nonetheless, journalism has gradually adapted to the new environment characterized by media convergence. The integration of new media platforms has significantly changed traditional media from a single-day cycle, as journalists must regularly update social media sites. Often, breaking new events with small information is posted on social media platforms with the rest of the details left until journalists receive the rest of the information or clarification (Ridwanullah and Bala, 2022, p. 41). This is one aspect of a convergence culture characterized by the coexistence of the old and new media to transform news production and dissemination.
What is more, the journalism sector is experiencing a seismic shift from the conventional broadcasting or print culture with established routines and journalistic roles to a convergence culture where distinctive categories or boundaries are gone. More specifically, the digitalization facilitated by the new media has led to the integration of new media tools in the production and dissemination of content. This relates to transmedia storytelling, in which journalists create content distribution via diverse platforms (Menke et al., 2018, p. 882). That is, convergence culture has altered the content distribution of content journalists produce for broadcast and print media. Most have embraced multiplatform distribution in which content is not produced for a single media. For example, it is common now to see newspapers releasing news and features that integrate videos on their social media platforms or website pages to complement their printed newspapers (Ridwanullah and Bala, 2022, p. 41).
Similarly, it is common to see television companies releasing news on video and text on their social media platforms. This relates to what Jenkins (2006) refers to as transmedia storytelling, whereby the news stories unfold across diverse media platforms in news stories are expanded through videos and text on the social media platforms. As Wurfel (2014) suggests, the transmedia storytelling approach embraced by journalism is a production and distribution strategy intended to give the audience a deeper understanding of the covered news item.
This approach has led to the emergence of convergent journalism because of the use of diverse media forms, including video, audio, and text, in the dissemination of news items across various platforms. This concept is traced to a story published in 2012 by John Branch titled “Snowfall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, which integrated multimedia by combining text, animated simulations, and video interviews (Bahr, 2022). The new story that featured a deadly snow avalanche opens with a video showing snow falling off the mountain in Washington. As one reads the text, one will see simulations and videos. According to Bahr (2022), this pioneering article paved the way for journalists to combine text and multimedia in articles across the US to ensure a seamless narrative presentation. The story saw other mainstream media companies embrace a similar approach in news reporting using different multimedia forms in the information or news production and dissemination.
The convergence culture in relation to the coexistence of the old media and digital media technologies has impacted content creation because of audience participation in the content creation. As Deuze (2007) explains, journalism is becoming highly interactive, whereby consumers and journalists are engaged in participative/collaborative production of media content. Audience participation in content creation in journalism is not a new concept, as it was established by reader representatives and letters to the editors (Deuze, 2007, p. 245).In the broadcast media, audience participation was through the hotlines and opinion surveys/polls. However, the practice has accelerated recently with the advent of new media technologies that have blurred the boundary between professionals and amateurs. Today, exclusionary and professionalized journalism is gradually giving way to interactive or audience participation in content creation. One cannot ignore that participatory culture associated with media convergence influences journalism since audiences are no longer passive spectators in news reports (Jenkins, 2006). In news events, the audiences contribute to content creation. The interactive function provided by the digital platforms, the audience comments they share with the journalists can become news events or materials. It is also common for celebrity comments on social media platforms to become news. This interactive episode between journalists and media consumers makes news reports enriching and profound.
The perfect example of the participatory media culture in journalism is highlighted by the Bluffton Today by Morris Publishing Group, which features a free newspaper and community news website (Deuze, 2007). According to Deuze (2007), Bluffton Today publishes newspapers distributed to households in the larger Bluffton area in South Carolina, US. What makes the newspaper a perfect model of convergence culture is the heavy reliance on user-provided content as the news source. The online comments provided by the audience on the Bluffton website are used as a news source in the newspaper. Indeed, Bluffton identifies itself with cultural convergence with its objective of seeking feedback from the larger Bluffton area. The website focuses more on the topics that people in the region are talking about based on the comments on the website. This serves as the news source edited by the Bluffton journalists and editors (Deuze, 2007). Bluffton Today links convergence to what Jenkins referred to as the blurred boundaries between media producers/journalists and consumers. Research has shown that Bluffton’s approach has had unintended positive consequences regarding trust (Deuze, 2007). That is, the participatory culture in the content creation engenders trust because both content producers and the audience see each other.
The implication of convergence culture for journalism that stands out from the above analysis is that media content is created collaboratively from the interaction between journalism and the audience. Moreover, it is crystal clear that the engagement of journalists and audience occurs at the networked individualism because media consumers engage and interact with the journalists in print or broadcast at the individual level based on their interests or preferences (Deuze, 2007). This shows content producers in journalism could enhance readership or audience experience by valuing their participation. The effort to attract content consumers as participants or as content contributors is likely to promote their enthusiasm and loyalty. The participation in media content production extends beyond consumption as they engage in the dissemination of the story. Besides, the analysis conducted in the paper shows that the use of multiplatform, as outlined by the transmedia storytelling concept to disseminate news stories, presents journalism with an avenue to enrich the audience’s understanding of the story.
The convergence culture in journalism involves producing the print edition to disseminate content supported by the online editions that disseminate the same news covered in the print edition. In essence, the transmedia storytelling concept of convergence culture, used in journalism, means journalists must invest time and resources to produce content that exploits digital platforms. This presents the challenge of knowing the digital platform used by the media consumers and what content is interesting to them to determine the best format for distributing the content. Moreover, the convergence culture challenges the conventional relationship that has existed between the industry and the audience based on the hierarchy. As Deuze (2007) explains, convergence culture challenges the traditional practice in journalism of telling content consumers or audiences what information they need to know. Convergence culture is flattening this top-down approach or hierarchy, as shown in the Bluffton Today case, where reporters or staff rely on user-generated content for their news stories.
Moreover, the convergence culture is apt to change the traditional role of the content producer and consumer. Journalists are likely to become co-creators with their target audience rather than producers in the conventional sense. In other cases, journalists are consumers of the content shared with consumers in their interactive sessions over social media platforms, as demonstrated by the Bluffton Today case study (Deuze, 2007). The co-creative media environment associated with journalists and consumers working as content co-creators presents a serious challenge to the title of media professionals as content producers. The professional boundaries are no longer intact as media consumers are also generating content disseminated to consumers, such as with Blufftoofdthe ay paper.
Jenkins (2006, 5), in reference to Nicholas Negroponte’s article on the difference between traditional passive media and highly interactive media, suggests that the broadcast networks will collapse in the face of niche media. According to him, what is going to happen to broadcast TV is unparalleled, and it is hard to comprehend. However, the media monolithic or conglomerates will require no government regulation to shatter them (Jenkins, 2006, p. 9). That is, the convergence culture led by the digital revolution will dismantle the hierarchical media empires.
In addition, one cannot deny that convergence culture provides opportunities for innovation in journalism because it shatters the old barriers regarding what journalism is, content platforms, and deadlines (Ridwanullah and Bala, 2022, p. 42). In essence, convergence culture has revolutionized journalism in terms of news production. Journalists must regularly update the online platforms with news updates, a complete break from the traditional one-day cycle. Furthermore, the practice of using multimedia forms in disseminating content using audio, text, and video requires journalists to integrate various skills in areas such as technology. The demand to report and take videos would require journalists to acquire new skills to operate the cameras while reporting the news. For instance, the snowfall story carried by the New York Times integrating audio, text, simulations, and video implies that journalists must have skills beyond those of writing stories for online newspapers and the ability to shoot videos as well (Liu, 2020, p. 34). This presents the continuous training for journalists to acquire the skills necessary to share news stories in multimedia. The convergence culture in journalism is also associated with the practice of citizen journalism. That is, editors have the opportunity to add citizen journalism to social media platforms and websites to enable consumers to comment and provide feedback in text or audiovisual formats (Deuze, 2008, p. 105). News organizations can implement user-generated content or citizen journalism through two significant approaches: comments and interaction with journalists/editors. For instance, some newspapers, such as Le Monde, have established blog spaces to interact with their audiences. Deuze (2008) also refers to the emergence of the gate-watching concept in which journalists publicize news or materials offered by their audience instead of publishing them.
The convergence culture, however, presents ethical issues in journalism. As journalism integrates new media, it is critical for the news production process to meet new challenges or demands. As mentioned earlier, journalists have to embrace multimedia reporting. Saltzis and Dickinson (2015) state that media organizations are conceiving new integrated newsrooms to manage multimedia production with a far-reaching impact on journalists and their working practices. Now, journalists must multitask due to the increased duties associated with the transmedia storytelling practice of convergence media. However, this presents an ethical issue since the increased demand results in workplace pressure negatively affecting journalistic standards (Saltzis and Dickson, 2015).
Moreover, convergence culture presents ethical issues because, traditionally, journalists ensure content quality by planning and choosing narratives that elucidate major issues beyond human interest. These principles are integrated into their training to enable journalists to make their own judgments when producing content. The focus on human interest presented by the use of user-generated content blurs the ability of journalists to explain issues. Furthermore, the issue of the use of multiple media platforms to disseminate content also affects the quality of journalist practices. As Srisaracam (2019) explains, transmedia storytelling imposes an enormous workload on journalists to deliver content across multiple media platforms. This workload may affect the ability to gather in-depth news stories or engage in investigative journalism (Srisaracam, 2019). In other words, the workload linked to the production and dissemination of content on multiple media platforms might affect journalism work because it might make journalists rely a lot on consumer-generated content as their news sources. It might compromise professionalism in journalism. Perhaps the main concern associated with convergence culture, where the media consumers become content co-creators in journalism, is that it might compromise the ability of journalists to offer diverse angles on the new stories needed by consumers to understand social issues (Srisaracam, 2019).
Conclusion
In conclusion, as outlined by Jenkins, convergence culture transcends the technological aspect to the cultural aspect in which media consumers become active participants in media content creation and dissemination. This concept is relevant in journalism as the media consumers have become co-creators, as demonstrated by the Bluffton Today newspaper. Additionally, newspapers such as the New York Times have embraced the transmedia storytelling concept of convergence culture by using multimedia platforms for news stories using text, audio, simulations, and video. It profoundly impacts journalism, given that journalists have to update social media platforms or websites to break news stories, a significant change from the conventional single-day cycle. It also allows organizations to integrate great citizen journalism into their news production. However, it presents ethical issues by putting pressure on journalists, negatively impacting journalistic standards and professionalism.
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