The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Newspapers Take the Lead

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisted Three years ago, one of the first studies was conducted to determine the extent to which convergence journalism had taken hold in U.S. The study concluded that most news organizations sampled viewed convergence as important to the future of the profession. It also noted that most newspapers and TV stations surveyed had forged convergence partnerships – around nine in 10 newspapers and eight in 10 TV stations.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited This longitudinal study re-examines the growth of convergence journalism within the news media industry. A key finding of the second survey, conducted in , suggests that newspapers in this country’s top 210 markets appear to be having the most success in terms of implementing convergence partnerships with Web partners, television stations and now radio.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Our research questions for this second phase of the study include: 1) What changes in convergence journalism practices in the media surveyed have taken place since Phase I? 2) What changes in attitudes toward the value of convergence journalism skills have taken place among respondents since Phase I? What concerns and questions do media practitioners have about the future of convergence?

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited For both phases, researchers followed the same methodology. In Phase I ( ) the 210 largest U.S. media markets were identified, based on rankings provided by Nielsen Media Research. Then one TV station from each market was selected randomly. The largest daily newspaper, based on circulation, from the same 210 markets (there was only one newspaper in the vast majority of markets) was also selected.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited In Phase I, surveys were ed in October with a reminder several weeks later. Follow-up calls were completed through early For Phase II, the initial surveys were ed in mid-November; a reminder was sent in early However, due to a focused telephone campaign, the response rate for Phase II jumped from 40 percent to 53 percent for newspapers and from 38 percent to 47 percent for the TV.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Both the television and newspaper samples in Phases I and II were similar, except for the greater representation of large newspapers with daily circulations of 150,000+ in Phase II.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited A slight shift has occurred in the value news professionals place on new hires having convergence skills. Overall, newspaper respondents were somewhat more likely to say these skills were important for new hires. Seven in 10 editors said this in Phase I, versus eight in 10 in Phase II. Among broadcasters, around three quarters said this was important in Phase I of the study. In Phase II, about the same number agreed. However, the percentage of news directors who said these skills were “very important” versus “somewhat important” nearly tripled, jumping from 12 percent to 34 percent.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited But only newspaper editors placed more emphasis in Phase II on preparing young journalists to write across mediums. Among TV respondents, 65 percent said this skill was important in Phase II. However, 80 percent of TV respondents had said this skill was important in Phase I. In contrast, the number of managing editors who felt it was important for new hires to be able to write across mediums increased between Phases I and II, from just under 60 percent to 67 percent.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Once again, findings clearly show that news judgment and news writing skills remain priorities in newsrooms. Nearly 100 percent of both newspaper editors and TV news directors said they valued news judgment and news writing and reporting skills in a journalism hire. These of course were key skills in Phase I as well.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited The most sizable shift in numbers from Phase I to Phase II involved the number of news organizations that said they were involved in convergence partnerships. In Phase I, eight in 10 television news directors said their station was involved in a convergence journalism partnership. In Phase II, however, just under four in 10 said their station was involved in such a partnership. In contrast, around eight in 10 editors said their newspapers were involved in convergence partnerships in Phase II, down from nine in 10 in Phase I.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited The nature of existing convergence partnerships has also evolved. In Phase I, 95 percent of convergent newspaper respondents and 83 percent of convergent TV respondents had a Web partner. In Phase II, 45 percent of convergent TV respondents had a Web partner, although these partnerships existed at all market sizes. Among newspaper respondents, 68 percent had a Web partner. However, high- circulation newspapers were more likely to have a Web partner.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited In Phase II, respondents did not report as many convergence partnerships with Websites, and these are still more prevalent among newspapers. Overall, TV-newspaper partnerships seem to be holding steady, if not growing in number. And radio partnerships have decreased among TV respondents, but increased among newspaper respondents.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited The converged models: Newspaper-Web As was noted above, 68 percent of all convergent newspaper respondents said they had a Web partner. This was among the most prominent types of convergence journalism partnerships. In most of these cases these Websites were directly associated with the newspaper. Only 12 percent had a relationship with an unassociated Website.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited These partnerships were often characterized by: Reporters providing versions of stories they’d written for the newspaper to the Website. 8 in 10 editors said this happened “frequently,” versus 61 percent in Phase I. Reporters providing their Web partner with briefs to update breaking stories they might be covering. 7 in 10 said this happened “frequently,” versus 56 percent in Phase I. Reporters frequently writing stories exclusive to the Web. 29 percent versus 26 percent in Phase I.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Most often these convergence relationships were characterized by Connective and Supplemental elements. Supplemental efforts included a range of activities that involved posting material to the Web that space requirements kept out of the newspaper. For instance, nearly four in 10 editors said they featured supplemental photos, photo galleries, slide shows, or video and audio on the Web.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Just over a third of respondents also said their online efforts focused on Connective elements: online chats, invitations to opinion polls, question-and-answer forums and Web blogs.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited The TV-Newspaper Model Newspaper involvement has stayed around 70 percent through both phases of the study. However, more TV stations pursued these partnership in Phase II; the number of TV participants jumped from around four in 10 to close to six in 10. Clearly this convergence model also remains vital.

The State of Convergence Journalism Most TV-newspaper partnerships include independent news organizations. For instance, 89 percent of the TV respondents had partnered with an independent newspaper; 5 percent were working with a co-owned paper. Among editors, 74 percent were working with an independent station, while 19 percent had partnered with a co-owned station.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited For newspapers, their partnerships with TV stations remained fairly stable since Phase I: 36 percent of editors said staff were “frequently” interviewed on air in Phase II, versus 40 percent in Phase I. The number of newspaper staff frequently writing for TV broadcasts was around 10 percent in both phases of the study. And the number of newspaper journalists hosting TV shows or segments dropped slightly, from 13 percent to 8 percent.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Some TV convergence practices from Phase I seem to have been abandoned: No news directors said staff “frequently” wrote for a newspaper partner, compared with 17 percent in Phase I. In Phase I, nearly 30 percent of news directors said staff were “frequently” quoted in the newspaper, versus 5 percent in Phase II. And 11 percent of TV respondents in Phase II said staff had a newspaper column, versus 25 percent in Phase I.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited TV-newspaper partnerships today are most often characterized by Collaboration (60 percent of convergent TV respondents and 80 percent of convergent newspaper respondents) and Cross-Promotion (17 percent of convergent newspaper respondents and 18 percent of convergent TV respondents). The former incorporates both information sharing and cooperation on stories or projects.

The State of Convergence Journalism Although the number of TV-radio partnerships has dropped since Phase I, from 67 percent to 39 percent of all converged partnerships reported by TV respondents, the number of newspaper- radio partnerships has increased, from 31 percent to 40 percent of all newspaper convergence partnerships.

The State of Convergent Journalism Revisited Again, these newspaper-radio collaborations occur most often between independent news organizations. For instance, 85 percent of editors with radio partners reported that their partners were local commercial stations that were not owned by their paper’s parent company.

The State of Convergent Journalism Revisited In certain “convergence”-related key areas, radio and newspaper partners work closely: In both Phases, around 11 percent of editors said staff “frequently” wrote for radio broadcasts. In Phase I, 30 percent of editors said staff were frequently interviewed on air, versus 35 percent in Phase II. In Phase I, 10 percent of editors said staff were frequently hosting radio shows; by Phase II, it had jumped to 27 percent.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Like the newspaper-TV model, the newspaper-radio partnerships appear to be characterized by Cross-Promotional and Collaborative efforts. Again, as with the newspaper-TV model, the Collaborative enterprises involved everything from “sharing tips” and other information to co-hosting shows.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited Fewer convergence partnerships appear to be in place today than they were three years ago. However, it is unclear whether previous relationships have been abandoned, or whether the way news directors and editors define convergence has changed. Perhaps respondents have become more careful about what they define as truly “convergent.”

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited The nature of these convergence partnerships has also changed since Phase I of this study. TV stations and newspapers alike seem to be rethinking these partnerships to focus more on the key strengths that each participant can bring to the relationship. If both parties key strengths complement each other, than the partnership can sustain itself. If no complementary strengths exist, the partnership loses steam.

The State of Convergence Journalism Revisited For broadcast organizations, the appeal of newspapers is their reporting depth; for newspapers, broadcast provides a higher profile as well as an element of immediacy. The Internet provides this same competitive edge, in addition to new storytelling possibilities that the newspaper medium cannot provide. As long as partnerships capitalize on these core strengths, they will flourish.