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Converging Communication, Colliding Cultures:
Shifting Boundaries and the Meaning of “Our Field”
Jeff Wilkinson, PhDAssoc Prof, Journalism
Regent [email protected]
Media Convergence Areas
Convergence occurs at various levels throughout society and institutions
1. Technological convergence 2. Organizational convergence 3. Convergent journalism 4. Media Use Convergence
Diffusion of Convergence
Media convergence spreading to non-media fields
Important to Media Scholars, practitioners because it represents external competition
Social Darwinism at work To better understand how media
should respond, revisit our assumptions
SMCR revisited 50 years ago, media scholars could
conceptualize Mass Communication as follows:
Source Message Channel ReceiverMedia Companies& workers
News, Information, Entertainment
TVRadioNewspaper
Audiences
Old Model Assumptions (Wright, 1959)
1. It is directed toward relatively large, heterogeneous, and anonymous audiences
2. Messages transmitted publicly, often timed to reach most audience members simultaneously, and are transient in character
3. The communicator tends to be or operate within a complex organization that may involve great expense
New Model Assumptions (McManus, 1994)
1. Previously distinct technologies are merging (note* “have merged”)
2. Shift from media scarcity to media abundance
3. Shift from content-geared-to-mass to content-geared-to-groups or individuals
4. Shift from one-way to interactive
Implications of New Assumptions The Source (Creator) no longer limited
to complex organizations & great expense
Message (Content) is being redefined because we now have an abundance of creators
Channel (www) is open to everyone and is increasingly two-way/interactive
Receiver includes consumers and even media companies!
Expanding SMCR
Source Message Channel Receiver
ProfessionalAmateurConsumerCorporateEducatorMarketerMedia
ValuesInformationMessageEducationEntertainment
VisualTextAuralAnimationStill/movingGraphicsWWWNetwork
OneManyOne-timeRepeatConsumerCorporateMedia
Back to the Beginning: Key Constructs,
Components
Social Psychology and Neuropsychology consider Cognitions and Affect as basic building blocks for human beings
Cognitions ≈ Information Cerebral cortex centered, rational thinking
Affect ≈ Entertainment Mid-brain centered, emotions/feelings
Information and Entertainment
Neither either/or, exist on continua Historically, information (serious)
and entertainment (light) have been separate
Only recently are Entertainment and Information being consciously blended, enhancing both
Ideal Content Blends Both Information that entertains is most
attended to, remembered Entertainment that informs teaches
skills, values, most benefits society These principles increasingly
practiced by creators in designing CONTENT
Macro-social level this is “Diffusion of Convergence”
Modeling the Diffusion of Convergence
Cogni / Aff Not Entertaining
Entertaining
Informative
Facts; education, business, policy, law, etc.
Ever-Increasing categories & examples
Not Informative
“amateur content” “Mind candy”;
WWF, desperate housewives
Examples of Collision 1: Art & Architecture Full-service architecture firm
http://www.3dworks.com/code/frameset_e.htm?view=/code/info_e.
htm QTVR Photography and imaging
http://www.panoramas.dk/architecture.html http://www.qtvr.dk/uk/arkitektur.html
Examples of Collision 2: Law
http://dmoz.org/Society/Law/Services/Litigation_Support/Evidence_and_Presentations/
Animation http://3dcrimescene.com/
Standard news documentary http://www.settlementvideo.com/
Examples of Collision 3: Medicine
http://www.symmation.com/content/medical-animation.php
Images http://www.medtecimaging.com/
Examples of Collision 4: Education
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Video for cross-cultural communication
http://www.geocities.com/ehansonsmi/video_references.html
NECC podcast demonstrated interviewing & on-air skills of non-media educators
Examples of Collision 5: Business
Google search 10/11/05 for “business school multimedia” yielded 32,600,000 hits
Online Design School-Graphic Web Multimedia Business Marketing ... Online Design School-Graphic Design, Web Design, Multimedia, Business Marketing Design, Digital Arts accredited certificate programs and courses.www.sessions.edu/ - 10k - Cached - Similar pages
Business School : Multimedia Development and Business BA (Hons) A Joint Degree in Multimedia Development to provide broad knowledge of the design, technical, social and legal issues that organisations have to ...www.uce.ac.uk/web2/business/multimedia_business.html - 18k - Cached - Similar pages
Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Releases First Multimedia ... Harvard Business School announced commercial launch of the first multimedia case ...www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/ 1997/04.24/HarvardBusiness.html - 8k - Cached - Similar pages
Rutgers Business School : Multimedia Spring 2005 Rutgers Business School offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs.business.rutgers.edu/default.aspx?id=737 - 19k - Cached - Similar pages
Examples of Collision 6: Government
Hong Kong http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/05-06/eng/webcast.
htm
United States http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/ http://www.whitehouse.gov
/kids/videos/index.html#
Revisiting the Diffusion of Convergence Model
Cogni / Aff Not Entertaining
Entertaining
Informative
Facts; education, business, policy, law, etc.
Ever-Increasing categories & examples
Not Informative
“amateur content” “Mind candy”;
WWF, desperate housewives
Implications & Suggestions for Change
Embrace non-media convergence applications
Look for ways to link Journalism & Communication to other fields
Example: Videoconferencing for Journalism students under the rubric of “cross-cultural language learning”
Journalism & Cross-cultural communication, Spring 2005
RU Journalism student met with students from Tamkang University
Discuss perceptions, attitudes of Taiwanese students regarding identity with Mainland China
Topic is political and very sensitive
Conclusion
Media convergence extends beyond traditional boundaries
Diverse sectors and fields are embracing and employing the same tools and principles to create content
Journalism and Mass Media and Communication must expand to survive