Convergent journalism: concept, types. New technologies in journalism

The unlimited information opportunities of our days set the rapid development vector not only in the volumes and quality of information, but also in the methods of its presentation to a wide audience. And the main engine of this whole mechanism of convergence, in which borders and barriers in many plans simply cease to exist, is the emergence of new information and communication technologies.

First and foremost, their influence has a tangible effect on the transformations in journalism, due to which the media is developing new information sites and more technological methods of content delivery.

The origins of modern trends

The usual modern meaning of convergence for journalism in 1970 was introduced by American sociologist Daniel Bell - author of the theory of the formation of a postindustrial society. At that time, this term implied the merging of computers, telephones, televisions into uniform technological devices.

However, only with the beginning of the 1990s, when the Internet was quickly and widely distributed among millions of users, convergent journalism received a powerful impetus from the "periodically discussed topic" to the most promising format of information broadcasting. And in the last 20 years the concept of multimedia has started to be seriously discussed in professional circles.

Global integration processes

The merging of various genres of journalism (print, radio, television, Internet publications) is carried out at several conditional levels. And in each of them the scale of convergence and its results vary considerably:

1. The most "primitive" level is the convergence of technical devices used by journalists to collect and process information material. Such processes generate new gadgets, which require an appropriate level of competence.
2. Therefore, the next level is the convergence of professionalism (experience, knowledge, skills). Employees of various departments and editorial offices are united into single teams for the development of multimedia material.
3. In the future, a more complex, broad and universal content format creates all the prerequisites for interaction between whole genres of media (print, radio, television, etc.), which is the peak of the development of convergent journalism in general.

Based on the multimedia basis of information delivery, modern media companies distribute their content to the widest range of media platforms (for example, Internet radio, newspaper on the online platform, or Web-TV format).

In the broadest sense, the Latin term "convergo" implies not only the mutual impact of any phenomena on each other, but also the boundless exchange of technology, experience, and means. And in the case of the phenomenon of convergent journalism, mutual integration is manifested as the process of transmitting the same information through a variety of media (text, sound and video) using various communication channels (print, radio, television and the most popular format now - The Internet).

New technologies in journalism

The global spread of the Internet caused the merging of traditionally separate genres of information broadcasting into a single whole, which in the near past seemed absolutely unattainable.

Previously, in order to learn about the latest news, it was necessary to use the radio. To see the recording of what was happening was possible only with the help of a television set. And more detailed and detailed information was expected only on the pages of new newspaper issues.

The current media convergence process allows you to combine audio, video and text information within one published material. Of course, the process of creating a multimedia product requires experience, qualification and material costs. The latter are clearly expressed in the need to have equipment that is appropriate in terms of power and functionality, to pay for the work of photo and video editing specialists (not to mention editors, journalists, etc.).

Thus, technological progress, bringing new media that can store visual, text and audio data simultaneously, has created the ground for the successful integration of the press, radio and television into unified information resources.

Merge of media and communication technologies into a single journalistic field

The ever-changing media landscape (the set of the most popular communication technologies / services in the world) in one way or another brings a subtle delimitation into the ranks of modern media, taking into account which one can single out entire genres of convergent journalism:

1. Media publications are sufficiently local, focused mainly on a certain region. Their activities are limited to one of the components of the media: newspaper, radio, television or Internet resource. It is this type that most fully reflects what readers today call "traditional news". As for convergence, in this category it is usually implemented not beyond 1-2 previously described levels.
2. Hypermedia - this genre of convergent journalism is not limited to just one media platform for providing its content. For example, an online newspaper, which is also published in print. They are most often meant by the term "multimedia" / - a combination in the material of the text of a visual series, audio, graphics and other means of presenting information. Integration into hypermedia, respectively, takes place at all three levels.
3. Transmedia is a rather ambiguous genre, the controversy about which has not abated so far. Particular attention is paid to social networks (one of the examples of the transmedia), which in their essence only partly have the features and functions of the media. In this case, the information content itself is called into question, since its creation and editing are not dealt with by journalists, but users, who tend mostly to more communicative (colloquial) means of warning. In addition, a similar media platform, which goes beyond its functional and practical applications far beyond the scope of one journalistic activity, many experts urge not to perceive as a serious innovation. After all, transmissions provide users with not only journalistic works, but also advertising, entertainment content and much more.

Cross-media synonym

The concept of "convergent journalism" is often replaced by a more professional one - "cross-media". This is due to the proximity of the essence of these terms. But with all similarities, the difference between them lies in the less generalized meaning of the latter.

Cross-media necessarily implies the use of at least two broadcast platforms (print, television, digital, etc.), as well as distribution of content to a number of technical devices (televisions, tablets, smartphones and other gadgets). It is the emphasis on various types of platforms in its activities and makes journalism cross-media.

Multimedia approach to material search

Convergent journalism always involves the use of various audio, video and photographic materials in publications, spreading them to the widest possible range of broadcast devices. It is on such a simple theoretical principle that the process of searching, processing and processing of information obtained by journalists is rather difficult in practice:

• Reports from the places of events must be conducted with the use of video cameras and the subsequent installation of the most significant moments. For example, the work of print media, if it assumes in other cases the shooting of video material, it is exclusive only for partner TV channels.
• In addition, the required photographs are also required.
• Full integration of all working personnel in the creation of media content. Teams of journalists from different departments of the multimedia company in one form or another are organized in work with each other, not only carrying out a comprehensive search for the material, but also making up the visual design of the content. At the same time, there is a joint work on the database, infographic and other media elements.
• Finally, cooperation between various multimedia media in the creation of joint projects, search and editing of the material is not excluded.

Sometimes the status of convergent media is also equated with online journalism, which is a rather inaccurate assessment of these information resources. Since they are placed on the Internet, the multimedia approach to creating material for them is only an additional element in the content delivery, but by no means the standard format for broadcasting.

The Age of Numbers

In turn, the publications, the basis of which is directly based on the Internet, received a separate name for its category - digital journalism. Sometimes the term "flash-journalism" is used for this term (it comes from Adobe Flash, which is an easy and popular tool in creating, publishing and editing multimedia content online).

In addition to using the capabilities of the World Wide Web to create and promote their content, digital publications also suggest finding sources in a variety of network resources. These include blogs, news sites, RSS feeds, social networks.

Digital journalism (be it an online newspaper, news site, etc.) is directly connected with convergence on the grounds of its multimedia capabilities and the use of the Internet platform for publishing content.

From the notes of critics

However, the merging of different genres of journalism into a single information resource was not without skeptics and ardent opponents. So, to the negative sides of convergent media, first of all, the issue of the quality of the submitted material.

There are also heated discussions about whether media companies can work just as professionally with the same content, presenting it on several different platforms at once. Moreover, not only Western, but also domestic journalism is endowed with such attention, which also has a lot of large multimedia media representatives for today.

What does the reader get in the end?

The development of multimedia not only made it possible to synthesize photos, video and audio in the content, but also introduced the opportunity to add hyperlinks to other resources in the publication, to introduce interactive voting forms, ratings and comments. One can not but agree that such an approach represents not only more informative and diverse content, but also significantly affects its perception as a whole. For example, if in traditional genres the text often played the basic informative role, then in multimedia publications this function can already be assigned to a video or photo book. And the words at the same time go to the background, performing the role of explanatory comments, clarifications, headings.

As for the audience, its passive consumer character has undergone significant changes and now is characterized by greater activity of readers, who in turn have the means to influence the information field. At the same time, users received ample opportunities for individual choice of the desired format, subject matter and the amount of information required.

What is new journalism today?

The rapid globalization of information markets with the imminent disappearance of any boundaries between them provokes the convergence of computer, broadcast and telecommunications technologies among themselves.

The current media resources are mainly focused on the screen. The display of video, photos, graphs greatly enhances the convenience of information perception, presenting its full volume in a more concise manner. At the same time, various combinations of sound, image and text are realized; And the level of quality of this process is limited only by the creative skills of the working collective and the material base.

In addition, far from the last role in the formation of new journalism is played by public opinion, which received wide freedom of expression due to the appearance of interactive elements in media resources. Hundreds of comments, thousands of votes in polls, public ratings and votes - all this has become a user tool for real impact on the information environment, which also affects the vector of development of media content.

The media environment determines consciousness

The combination of versatile media in one product sets new standards and standards in the work of journalists, who today are required to have a number of relevant skills for quality delivery of the material in the required format. Achieving such goals requires new journalists to be versatile in the media sphere, as well as skilful work with materials of a different type and nature.

For the most accurate provision of content in the right format and content, a universal media worker should be able to professionally perform a whole range of diverse functions. Among them:

• Ability to record video;
• Writing an informative and literate text;
• Recording audio podcasts;
• Installation skills;
• Experience with the blog sphere.

Describe your profile, new journalist

The current requirements presuppose the existence of a special, multimedia type of thinking for each employee of the sphere described. And it should be displayed, first of all, in professional skills:

• In the ability to shoot video reports and take photos;
• To work with various computer programs (basically it concerns knowledge of the work of editing programs);
• Navigate the Internet, working with high-quality and informative sources;
• High-quality and quickly produce news materials for network resources;
• Process and transmit bulk audio and video data packets;
• Navigate in the blogger sphere (including this includes not only the search for information, but also the direct management of various blogs);
• Be available for guidance and team at any time of the day and night.

As a result, it is precisely this set of professional qualities and skills of a journalist that determines the quality standard in the creation of multimedia publications that are far from simple in their structure.

In conclusion about the main

All modern readers of information publications of various subjects and formats somehow become witnesses of large-scale changes. Prospects for the development of convergent journalism do not rest only in the transition to the network platform of broadcasting and the creation of their own website. Such half measures, which most often use convergent journalism in small media of regional and corporate level, on the contrary are a regression in the development of a conceptually new type of mass media.

The essence of the transition to new formats under conditions of convergence lies in the use of a huge number of various methods and tools for presenting information in a single published material. A variety of variations of text content, advanced graphics technologies, animations, photos, video materials, sound, the introduction of interactive elements for the audience into the resource - that's what the integrated information journalism really provides, which gives users a pleasant, conveniently perceived informative material with maximum visibility and the possibility of free Expression of personal reasoning.

The only urgent issue, the urgency of which will only increase during the entire development of convergent media, is the competence of new working cadres whose skills and thinking should be able to provide the audience with multimedia content of really high quality.