Chapter 13 - Journalism's strands converge and Kell's say

1. Companies need to train their employees before they can expect them to work in converged news rooms.

Not all journalists would feel comfortable reporting in different methods, so I think it is the responsibility of the employer to provide adequate training in this area.

This is even more so the case if a news room was previously strictly a print news room, or broadcast journalism, and then developed into a converged news room.

For this reason it is important employers make employees feel comfortable reporting in different formats and provide training. This will also provide the journalist with more experience in a range of areas.

2. The likely outcome is that the potential employee would probably not work for company. This issue was pointed out by Haiman, who said "that not every good print journalist possesses the physical attributes television viewers have come to expect from on-air reporters" (pg. 298).

If a reporter is not comfortable with a particular form of medium, I do not think they should be disadvantaged from a potential job opportunity. However if the company specifically advertise for journalists with converged journalism experience, I believe the company have the right to reject applicants who do not fit the criteria.

Media General believe converged journalists produce "better news and better journalism". (pg. 297). While I understand Media General's perspective, that converged journalism offers journalists a broader scope of reporting, I do not think journalists should feel they have to be part of a converged news room. Some journalists may prefer to write print material or cover broadcast journalism. Those journalists shouldn't be disadvantaged because they do not feel comfortable reporting for a different type of medium.

3. I do not think journalistic convergence is a fad, but I do think companies should be aware that convergence doesn't appeal to all journalists.

With new media such as the internet becoming a popular form of media, I think it's important for most organisations to report for the various forms of medium. For example, a womens magazine such as Cleo - the magazine will have print reporters but they will also employee journalists with web journalism experience. However there is no need for broadcast journalism in this instance because the magazine is not published for TV viewing.

Channel 9 program '60 Minutes' on the other hand, have journalists who report for the web and broadcast journalism but not print journalism (ie there is no '60 minutes magazine or newspaper).

As Conley and Lamble state "If consumers like the products journalists create and produce, ratings will follow, and advertisers will jump on the bandwagon" (pg. 313).

4. One of the implications of relaxed cross-media ownership laws would see media organisations not making enough profit from their online operations (pg.312). If organisations can advertise or publish online, free of charge to the consumer, how will the organisations make a profit?

However, as Conley and Lamble mention "advertisers can be persuaded to make the jump to promoting their products on online news sites, there will be money to be made".

Personally, I think it would be a good idea for organisations to perhaps print headlines of stories or a short overview of a story, which would entice consumers to purchase the newspaper or magazine. In this case, the organisations are still utilising the web media form, but could minimise any potential loss of profit.

5. I think the future of web, radio and television is a bright one.

With most people having access to all forms of media, they can all produce stories in various ways. And all three forms of media are of little cost to consumers (other than electricity costs!). I think TV and web journalism are perhaps slightly more appealing because they give consumers a visual aspect to stories/report. Radio does not have the same advantage.

6. I think there should be an option for students to multiskill, but I also think it should only be for students who are interested in multiskilling. I do not think it should be made compulsory for all journalism students.

Some students are only interested in print journalism or broadcast journalism, so I don't think it is necessary for those students to be "multiskilled". However, if other students would like to broaden their journalism skills, then I think offering a multiskilling course would definitely be beneficial for them.

So I definitely think a multiskilling course should be available to journalism students, however I don't think it should be made compulsory for all journalism students to undertake the course.

7. Yes, I think we are.

The internet and web are used world-wide, all day, everyday. Consumers do their banking, check emails, organise holidays, research, and communicate with friends and family all via the web.

With most consumers having access to the web, and it seems people are restricted for time to meet face-to-face with friends, the internet and web are taking over as the most used communicative tool.

If the internet and web were not available, I think life would become much busier. People would have to travel to their local bank to pay bills or transfer money. Employers would have to revert to paying employees by physically going to the bank, students would have to visit their local library to complete school/uni research etc etc.

The internet and web are definitely making life much easier and freeing up consumers' time, but it is my opinion that people are becoming less and less socially interactive because of the internet. The long term effects of that might one day be realised.

KELL'S SAY
My answer in question 7 incorporates Kell's say for this blog.

I really believe the internet is convenient and in most cases user friendly. Newspapers and magazines are available to read on-line, academic journals can be viewed on the net and you can even chat to friends on the internet these days!

I think social interaction is definitely being affected by the net, with the introduction of chat rooms etc. and I don't think that is a good thing at all.

But for the purpose of information searching the internet is certainly a useful tool!