Convergence or divergence?

Convergence is not about technology or even media. It is a revolution on what society is and how it is structured.

This is according to Matthew Buckland, GM of Mail & Guardian Online, speaking during a debate on media convergence, at the 11th Highway Africa conference, held in Grahamstown, this week.

"Convergence represents a flattening of hierarchies, which may have big implications for society," he said, citing revenue growth in the bloggersphere as an example of new media developments.

According to Buckland, these concepts are being driven by the changing attitudes of media consumers. "Readers are no longer letter-writers, but media owners in their own right and the challenge for convergence is to understand this new class of intelligent reader."

He added that it represents a new form of democracy where the consumer is given a platform for reader response and media creation.

The Internet has created many opportunities for media to present information in new ways, and is one of the drivers for convergence of media, said Arrie Rossouw, editorial director of 24.com, during the debate.

"We can now cover all platforms of media, from TV to book publishing, and place it online. Thanks to digitisation, we can now mash up this content."

He noted that to remain competitive, newspapers need to start factoring in the cost of providing online, or converged content. "If newspapers don't converge, they will fall away."

Rossouw added the cellphone is the most exciting platform emerging as a medium of news dissemination. By 2010, the continent could expect 400 million mobile handsets, 70% of which will be able to access online content, he said. "That is exactly the kind of inroads that this technology will make, which will allow us to reach a whole new audience."

Buckland agreed: "I foresee a time in the future when cellphones will be so cheap that they will be given away and connectivity will be so fast. A woman in a rural area will be able to watch a video news insert on cellphone regardless of literacy."

However bright the future, all panellists agreed there are challenges associated with media convergence.

Elvira van Noort, Rhodes University Masters student completing a thesis in newsroom convergence at the Mail & Guardian, said she found one of the biggest concerns surrounding convergence is reflected in the skills aspect of producing in more than one medium.

"Everyone in the Mail & Guardian newsroom has accepted that convergence is the future, no one doubts it will happen, but there is some sort of resistance to the possibility."

She added that, for the most part, there is a lack of understanding of the concept of convergence. "People are also concerned about having to spend more time writing or producing in a medium they are unfamiliar with."

Buckland said to avoid these concerns, as well as to maintain quality, the Mail & Guardian ensured specialist focus. "We can't expect a print journalist to be a good broadcast journalist and for this reason we brought in a broadcast journalist to do our podcast."

"I am going to be controversial and say that I don't believe in convergence right now," said Arthur Goldstuck, MD of WorldWideWorx.

He said there seems to be a convergence, "but the truth is it is actually a divergence". Goldstuck believes the divergence will grow before the media actually comes together.

"Video convergence online is separate from other types of reporting, and even the podcast is still a separate medium."

Goldstuck said there are now many platforms available to journalists, and new additions to the profession, such as citizen journalism. However, he said they are more separate than ever before.

Related stories:
Blogger takes on the 'dinosaur'
Highway Africa talks training