This week I read the second chapter of Stephen Quinn’s Convergent Journalism: The fundamentals of multi-media reporting (2005, Peter Lang, New York).

Convergent journalism – the delivery of news using multiple formats to reach multiple audiences around the clock – can only be the way forward for the media industry.

It seems inevitable in an age where we struggle with time constraints and the internet is increasingly used for quick grabs of information that aren’t readily available from other sources. An age where we want access to the old ways, too.

There are downsides to convergent journalism, like the increasing use of poor quality images and videos. And, in Australia where access to cheap broadband is limited, the internet factor can’t possibly take off as well as it might elsewhere… yet. The convergence roll-out would be incredibly expensive and there are technological issues to overcome. Journalists could react adversely to the change, particularly the increase in deadlines and the need to be more multi-skilled (a common theme in new media).

Nonetheless, I reckon media has to look to convergence because the old ways, alone, don’t work anymore. And I like the idea of getting all the journos to work together. The old adage ‘two heads are better than one’ seems to fit. There’s an emphasis on teamwork (which needs to come from top-level management) and this can ultimately only produce better journalism for our consumers.

And that’s my final point. Convergence has to be rolled out with the reader in mind, not the media owner’s hip pocket.

Cheers – Koren