New Media Worlds? Challenges for Convergence

Nightingale has approached traditional media platforms (TV, magazines) and the challenges that are ahead. She introduces the concept of convergence, which she has explored throughout the article.

Convergence can be defined as a n act of moving towards homogeny or amalgamation, however here it is understood “as an ongoing process or series of intersections between different media systems, not a fixed relationship” (Jenkins, 2006). This means that multiple media platforms can exist contemporaneous, although the content can “flow fluidly across them” (Jenkins, 2006).

The disintermediation of the newspaper industry is a great example of challenges that traditional media faces and has to face in the future. Newspaper industry income related to classified advertisement was directly under attack by online competitors, newspaper industry responded by expanding and reconstructing its online services and stressing on its broader information services.

What the newspaper industry has and is doing is a trend which Nightingale refers to as ‘interntisation’ of the traditional media. She also mentions other examples of ‘internetisation’ of traditional media. ‘Big Brother’ is another ‘internetisation’ of traditional media, in ‘Big Brother’ Norway could the audience go online and watch live feed from selected rooms inside ‘Big Brother’ house, or pay a small fee to see all rooms. Nightingale points out that the cost related to this transition has been passed on to the audience by the traditional media with these fees.

Nightingale talks about the difficulties that the traditional media is facing in approaching the new audience formation of the Internet. The way they are reinvent their activities so they can compete for the Internet audience. Furthermore, Nightingale states that the Internet has also made it difficult for traditional media to protect their contents rights, with the emergence of peer-to-peer file sharing. However she reveals that the severe commercialization of the Internet has increase the characteristic differences between professional and user generated content, and according to Nightingale this will increase the gap between information rich and information poor content.

I have to disagree with Jenkins, I do not believe that convergence here is going to be “an ongoing process or series of intersections between different media systems, not a fixed relationship”. I believe that we are already witnessing the unification of platforms and platform appliances. The mobile phones today have been transformed into pocket PC’s with WiFi capabilities, the 3G technology has made it possible to stream TV or download movies directly to you mobile phone. These technological advances will unify the current platforms, but it will also help new platforms appear.