Media convergence – a review

Grant, associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina and editor of Communication Technology Update, and Wilkinson, professor and coordinator of the International Journalism Programme at United International College (Zhuhai, China), founded jointly by Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University, offer a unique set of diverse perspectives on the evolving notion of media convergence. […] this edited book offers a concise, powerful set of perspectives on media convergence.

This is a text that would be a great tool in the classroom and goes along with the syllabus I have planned.

Convergence is reshaping the media landscape. A decade ago many scholars and professionals alike often questioned whether convergence was real or happening. Today, there is little debate. This edited collection of essays on and original investigations of media convergence significantly advances our understanding of the nature and impact of convergence.

Edited by August E. Grant and Jeffrey S. Wilkinson, this groundbreaking book offers a critical examination of media convergence. Grant, associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina and editor of Communication Technology Update, and Wilkinson, professor and coordinator of the International Journalism Programme at United International College (Zhuhai, China), founded jointly by Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University, offer a unique set of diverse perspectives on the evolving notion of media convergence.

Contributors include an impressive array of top scholars and mass media professionals, or scholars who themselves have strong professional backgrounds.

Although the chapters vary in the strength of their contributions, on the whole, the collection is worthwhile. Among the most insightful are chapters that combine both theoretical breakthroughs and original empirical evidence. Illustrative are chapters by Robert A. Papper, Michael E. Holmes, and Mark N. Popovich; and Michel Dupagne and Bruce Garrison. Papper, Holmes, and Popovich provide a useful glimpse into the media life of residents of “Middletown,” the community of Muncie and surrounding Delaware County, Indiana. Dupagne and Garrison put forward an in-depth qualitative examination of newsroom work at the Tampa News Center, which has been widely credited with being on the cutting edge of the professional adoption of news media convergence in American journalism.

The book generates considerable understanding of media convergence in not only American media but internationally as well. Kenneth C. Killebrew’s global investigation of media convergence deconstructs the shape and consequences of this phenomenon around the world.

Although the book generally focuses on the implications of news media convergence for journalism and society, considerable space is also allocated to a detailed look at the consequences and implications of convergence for journalism and media education. Timothy E. Bajkiewicz critically examines how convergence is transforming postsecondary journalism education in the United States. In particular, he raises the question of whether convergence may lead to the end of mass mediabased sequences.

The book also provides a valuable perspective on the future of convergence research. Susan Keith and B. William Silcock provide an agenda for future research on media convergence. Among the topics suggested are cultural challenges newsrooms face in an era of cross-media convergence and economic uncertainties in the digital age.

On the whole, this edited book offers a concise, powerful set of perspectives on media convergence. More than simple evangelizing, Understanding Media Convergence provides a critical examination of the nature and impact of this force rewriting the media landscape in the twentyfirst century both in the United States and around the world. Grant and Wilkinson have assembled a diverse collection of contributors whose backgrounds as scholars and professionals uniquely qualify them to offer authoritative viewpoints and data. This book will be highly useful in both advanced undergraduate classes as well as graduate courses in mass media.

In his book Online Journalism: Principles and Practices of News for the Web, James C. Foust has provided a compelling roadmap to the aspiring online journalist. The book combines both solid conceptual overviews of key ideas shaping the news landscape in the Internet era as well as the practical tools needed to function effectively as a reporter in that digital environment.

Online Journalism serves its student readers well. It is not only practical, but its insights are clearly presented and well organized. The book is current and comprehensive in its scope. The twelve chapters are logically grouped and the material is highly readable. Technical matter is central to the book, but it is not presented in a dry, or overly technical fashion. Wellwritten text is complemented by lively graphics.

Chapters on designing and building Web pages are among the contributions students will find particularly valuable. Students will learn from discussion of basic HTML and building pages in Macromedia Dreamweaver, standard software in most newsrooms. However, they will also find insightful chapters on non-linear storytelling, interactivity, and other principles transforming journalism in the online arena. While the book focuses on what’s new to journalism in the online space, it does not ignore the golden rules of what constitutes journalistic excellence, whether online or off. The book also urges student journalists to contemplate the consequences of online journalism for the economically disadvantaged and the digital divide.

Also valuable to students is the chapter on legal and ethical issues. These are matters of which students are sometimes blissfully unaware, and Foust shines a spotlight on them. Libel, obscenity, copyright, deep linking, and many more matters, including blogging ethics, are highlighted in this useful chapter.

Foust also provides useful examples from real newsrooms to illustrate his how-to guide to online reporting. Detailed examples such as the WashingtonPost. Newsweek Interactive and the Dispatch Printing Company will prove particularly useful to students as they seek translations of abstract principles and techniques to real-world situations.

Online Journalism is not strictly limited to the online world of news, and this is good. Some attention is paid to producing and packaging news for delivery to other devices, especially mobile technologies. Students will find this discussion particularly valuable as they pursue careers in the world of convergent media.

One area where the book could go further is in exploring some of the emerging tools for storytelling in the online age. For example, it would be useful to examine omnidirectional imaging, much as Foust does review omnidirectional audio technologies. Further, locative media, now emerging in the synthesis of Google Earth and news, would be a particularly compelling topic for the student journalist looking to explore innovative opportunities in the twenty-first century.

Despite these minor drawbacks, Foust’s Online Journalism is a highly valuable new book for any student hoping to one day work in a professional newsroom or even as a citizen or freelance journalist.

* Grant, August E. and Jeffrey S. Wilkinson (eds.) (2009). Understanding Media Convergence: The State of the Field. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 320.

* Foust, James C. (2005). Online Journalism: Principles and Practices of News for the Web. Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway Publishers, 2005. pp. 269.