Page 24 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

WHAT IS CONVERGENCE AND HOW WILL IT AFFECT MY LIFE?

Business Models and Convergence

American media are businesses, and one of the realities of business is
the need to make money to sustain the supply of content. Journalism
needs advertising and advertising needs journalism, because advertis-
ing pays for good reporting just as good reporting attracts customers
for advertising. As editor of the Orlando Sentinel, John Haile saw the
potential of new media—and the dangers of media fragmentation. He
recognized the importance of protecting a company’s revenues, and
said new media and convergence offered a way to do so. “The issue
driving my actions was the threat to our ability to do great journalism.
I had long believed that the soundest foundation of a free and success-
ful press was a financially successful press. As I looked to the future, I
could see how that financial base could be eroded by the proliferation
of new media and the almost certain fragmentation of our audience”
(2003, p. 4). Haile introduced the concept of convergence in 1995 via
various arrangements, including a partnership in the fall of 1998 with
Time Warner, which owned the all-news cable channel Central Florida
14 News 13. Sentinel reporters and editors contributed regular news and
features stories throughout the day. Later that year, Haile designed
and had installed a multimedia desk in the center of the newsroom as
a symbol of convergence.
In the best of all worlds, the journalism–business tension resolves
itself in a balance where good journalism attracts enough advertis-
ing to sustain both the journalism and the need to make a profit.
If the equation gets out of balance, such as during an economic
recession or when managers get greedy, the tension becomes more
magnified. If the equation is balanced, convergence can work. Conver-
gence can appear attractive to some editorial managers and publishers
who think that multi-skilled journalists should potentially be able to
produce more news for the same or little more money. They rea-
son that their organizations should be able to cut costs because of
increased productivity—more multi-skilled reporting means the orga-
nization needs fewer reporters. This remains one of the most popular
myths about convergence. Major opportunities do exist for cross-
promotion and marketing, where each medium recommends the next
in the news cycle. And it is possible to save money through shared
back-end facilities such as payroll and human resources if one com-
pany introduces convergence. But convergence does not cut costs in the
content-producing areas. Professor James Gentry has advised several