Page 25 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

Cultural Factors

newsrooms on convergence, and written extensively on the subject.
For him the bottom line can be summarized in one sentence: “Conver-
gence always costs more than you think it will, takes longer than you
think it will, and is more difficult to do than you think it will be.”
From the journalist’s perspective convergence offers a chance to do
better journalism by giving reporters the tools to tell stories in the
most appropriate medium. Technology frees them from the limits
of individual media. Some print reporters are embracing convergence
because appearing on television gives them added visibility—they enjoy
being recognized in public places. Convergence skills also make them
more marketable. Joe Brown, a senior reporter at the San Francisco
Chronicle, said convergence also improved both forms of writing.
“Across the board there is this misunderstanding between print and
broadcast journalists. They sneer at each other. But once you [a print
journalist] have done it [broadcast journalism] you appreciate how dif-
ficult it is. You understand the limitations of broadcast [journalism] and
the skills involved. You don’t take it for granted and you also under-
stand the limitations of the other medium. I think that convergence
helps [print] reporters understand what’s missing in their reporting. 15
Print reporters who wind up doing television end up understanding
what’s missing in their work,” Brown said.

Cultural Factors

Cultural factors can encourage or inhibit convergence. Angels will not
work with people they perceive as devils. A conservative newspaper
that sees itself as a paper of record will have issues partnering with
a tabloid television organization. Similarly, print journalists who look
down on television people, labeling them as dimwit poor spellers, are
less likely to welcome broadcast people into their newsrooms. A recent
study found that some print and broadcast journalists are locked in a
cultural clash known as an intergroup bias dynamic. The journalists
who participated in this study were more likely to rate their medium
and career as being more important than that of the other group. Fur-
thermore, both print and broadcast journalists were asked to rate a
plan to create a converged newsroom. Though all participants were
rating the exact same plan, the study manipulated the source of the
plan to be print journalists, broadcast journalists, or a combination of
the two. Both print and broadcast journalists were most negative in
rating the plan when they thought it was the sole work of the other