Defining Media Convergence

According to Brooks, Kennedy, Moen, and Ranly (2004), convergence is the process of cross-
promoting and sharing material from many media, some of which are interactive, using newsroom
cooperation and partnerships. In explaining the entailments of media convergence, Jenkins and
Deuze (2008) state that this "democratization" of media use made possible by media convergence
signals “a widening of opportunities for individuals and grassroots communities to tell stories and
access stories others are telling, to present arguments and listen to arguments made elsewhere, to
share information and learn more about the world from a” variety of other perspectives. By
combining, co-opting, convergent, and synergizing their brands and intellectual properties across
all of these platforms, media firms, on the other hand, aim to broaden their audience.
Reasons for Media Convergence
You can access a good amount of leisure, knowledge, and content on an unified system in this
way. If you are not carrying a cellphone with you, your life appears incomplete. The rapid shift in
the world over the past several years is the result of media convergence. The reasons why media
convergence is a significant part of our daily lives are outlined in the sections below:
a) It provides a new platform for education, access to information, and communication with
others online.
b) The possibility of carrying portable devices that are overflowing with information. We can
access content whenever we want. Newspapers and television are no longer the main sources of
news.
c) Numerous new terminology, such as podcasts, news feeds, portals, websites, internet running
apps, and blogging, have been created as a result of the merger of media.
d) We have countless options to produce and publish anything we want. It makes provision for
citizens to become both the audience and the content generator, and to develop identity on a
global scale.
These reasons and more fuel our daily desires hence making media convergence a necessity in our
society. Over time, media convergence requires advances. As a result, it has opened up lucrative
job options where people can make millions. You must earn a media degree if you intend to
pursue a profession in the media market. The opportunities that come with media convergence in
journalism according to Laxmi (2021) are listed below:
a) Editors
b) Illustrator
c) Reporters
d) Cartoonists
e) Travel Journalism
f) Critics
g) Columnists
h) News Analysts
i) Correspondents
j) Proof-readers
k) Staff or Freelance Writers
l) Photojournalists

THE EARLIEST CONCEPT OF MEDIA CONVERGENCE

In this technological background, the very first concept of media convergence was presented in
early 1980s. In the book Technologies of Freedom (1983), Ithiel de Sola Pool addressed the
possible changes in media, which could be brought by digitalisation of media (Jenkins, 2006:10).
In his book, De Sola Pool (1983:23) presented the concept of media convergence as follows:
“A process called the ‘convergence of modes’ is blurring the lines between media, even
between point-to-point communications, such as the post, telephone and telegraph, and
mass communications, such as the press, radio, and television. A single physical means –
be it wires, cables or airwaves – may carry services that in the past were provided in
separated ways. Conversely, a service that was provided in the past by any one medium –
be it broadcasting, the press, or telephony – can now be provided in several different
physical ways so the one-to-one relationship that used to exist between a medium and its
use is eroding”
As De Sola Pool’s definition showed, the foundation of the media convergence concept was the
previous status in media transmission. This can be addressed as ‘one-to-one’ relationship of
media. For example, in the past, TV contents had to be transmitted through antenna which sends
radio spectrum to TV receiver. This can be described as the picture below, which shows the
traditional one-to-one delivery modes in the creation, distribution and consumption of each
medium.
Figure1: Traditional one to one communication
However, as described in the first part of De Sola Pool’s definition on media convergence,
various media contents can be transmitted using a single digital network. This means that there is
an additional network, which can transmit technically every digital signal through it. And this is
enabled by the development of digitalisation and transmission technologies. On the other hand, as
the second part of his definition showed, a single content can be transmitted in various networks.
Therefore, it can be said that there is an additional network that can transmit digitalised content.
Consequently, De Sola Pool’s description of media convergence can be presented in the picture as
below.
Figure 2: Description of Media Convergence
As shown above, the concept of media convergence given by De Sola Pool can be understood in
two different parts. The first part of this description tells about the development of transmission
technology. In other words, it is mostly about the advent of new digital network that can convey
traditionally different media contents. The new digital network could be a wire, cable or airwaves,
as he exemplified. Therefore, in this first part of definition, media convergence can be described
as a technological development that enables various digital media services to be delivered in a
single digital network. For example, if a telecommunication company provided only
telecommunication services such as landline and mobile telephone services using their wired and
wireless telecommunication networks, it has become possible to use the same network to offer
broadcasting service such as IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) in addition to their existing
telecommunication services. When it comes to cable TV provider, it only offered TV programme
services in the past, but now it provides telecommunication services such as telephone and
broadband services on top of their cable TV service, thanks to the digitalisation and the
development of transmission technology.

STUDIES ON THE INFLUENCE OF MEDIA CONVERGENCE

Some studies examined how media convergence influenced on different levels of media. There
has been a good consensus among studies about the process of development of media
convergence. According to them, media convergence develops through four steps (see Iosifidis,
2002; ITU, 1997; Jenkins, 2006; Latzer, 2009; Michalis, 1999; van Cuilenburg and McQuail,
2003; Singh and Raja, 2010). These four steps are technology convergence, industrial
convergence, market convergence, and policy convergence. These steps are usually developed
from technology to policy convergence, like a chain reaction. That is, technological convergence
leads to industrial convergence, and then industrial convergence brings about market
convergence, and then market convergence causes policy convergence. Therefore, it could be said
that policy convergence can be regarded as the most advanced level in the process of media
convergence development. In this part, we will examine some actual examples of media
convergence in these four levels of development.
Technological convergence
Firstly, there is technological convergence that sets an initial stage in the process of convergence.
As noted in De Sola Pool’s definition of media convergence, technological convergence is
enabled by the digitalisation and the development of transmission technology. For example, a
cable TV company can provide telephone as well as TV service using a single digital network.
Also, a converged device enables the audiences to watch various digital contents using a single
digital device. For instance, a media user with personal computer or smart device such as
smartphone and tablet PC can get literally all media contents on these devices.

Industrial convergence
Secondly, as technological convergence proceeds, industrial convergence is occurred. Industrial
convergence can be understood in following two categories: Vertical integration and horizontal
integration. Due to the emergence of digital technology, the way of production, storage and
distribution of media content has been simplified, compared to the analogue era. Digitalisation
has enabled the production, storage and distribution to be done in a single digital mode.
Therefore, now a media company or even an individual who has a capacity to make and distribute
digital contents, he can technically run various media businesses which were quite difficult to
manage together in the analogue era. In other words, in a digitalised world, a media company can
easily manage different media businesses than before, and this makes them more converged than
the past.
Meanwhile, vertical integration means the integration between different media firms that operate
within a media value chain. Vertical integration is a frequently used strategy to reduce transaction
cost in a media value chain and obtain know-hows from an existing company (Albarran, 2013).
For instance, a media company that produces audio-visual content may want to reduce transaction
cost and increase their control on how their contents are shown to the audience. As a result, they
may want to buy an existing distribution industry by merger and acquisition (M&A). Perhaps,
they may want to just establish an additional distribution company by and for themselves, but it
would cost them a lot more, compared to M&A. Likewise, a distribution company may want to
have a production company, for they want to reduce cost and to have right contents their
customers want to watch. If they establish an affiliated production company or do an M&A with a
production company, they will find it much easier to secure audio-visual contents they want to
distribute. Furthermore, vertical integration is relevant to ‘economies of scope’, as the expansion
of the company’s scope over multiple industries brings economic advantage in such as
production, distribution, marketing and branding (Picard 2011b:78). On the other hand, industrial
convergence can be also relevant to the horizontal integration between media companies.
Horizontal integration means the integration between media companies in the same level within a
value chain. For example, network company and another network company may want to be
merged, so that they can increase their dominance in the market. This is a natural process in
media, as ‘economies of scale’ is a key for success in the industry. More precisely, in media
business, the production cost for an original copy is much higher than the cost of reproduction. In
other words, while the production cost for the first copy is very high, its reproduction cost is
almost zero (especially when it is copied in a digital format). Thus, it is important for media
companies to sell as many copies as possible, to maximise profit. Therefore, media companies are
highly likely to put its effort to secure as many audiences as possible. In this process, horizontal
integration happens between similar companies. This leads to the increase of consolidation in a
media market (Picard, 2011b:79). Like vertical integration, the horizontal integration has been a
common practice in media markets.
Market convergence
Thirdly, market convergence is occurred, as industrial convergence makes the boundaries
between existing markets blurred. A typical example of market convergence is bundle service
market. For example, telecommunication companies can provide broadcasting as well as telecom
services to customers by combining such as landline telephone, mobile phone, internet broadband,
and broadcasting services. This is called ‘Quadruple Play Service (QPS)’, as it combines four
different media and communication services. And if three different services are combined, it is
called ‘Triple Play Service (TPS)’. And if two different services are integrated into a single
service product, it is called ‘Double Play Service (DPS)’. For example, a Pay TV broadcasting
company such as a cable television can provide TPS service, by offering telecommunication
services such as the Internet broadband and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone service
in addition to their existing broadcasting service. Therefore, a combined telecom-broadcasting
market can be made, as there is virtually no difference between those services. In other words, the
barriers between existing two markets have been disappeared, as a result of industrial
convergence. Therefore, market convergence can be understood as the immediate result of
industrial convergence. Therefore, two media that operated in two separated markets now should
compete in the same market, and it can be called as market convergence.
Policy convergence
Finally, the changes in market prompts policy convergence. In general, policy convergence stands
for the organisational integration of traditionally different media policy agencies (Garcia-Murillo
and MacInnes, 2002:58). This could be exemplified as the integration between a government
ministry and an independent media regulator. The most typical policy convergence occurs
between broadcasting and telecom agencies. Furthermore, broadly speaking, policy convergence
can also include the integration of traditionally different media-related laws (e.g. broadcasting law
and telecommunication law) (ibid.)
There are many cases that can be more adequately categorised as ‘policy convergence’. For
example, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in USA and Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communications (MIC) in Japan are media agencies that oversee both promotional policy
and regulatory policy (World Bank, 2007). As its name hints, Korean KCC is quite similar to
American FCC. KCC was a policy convergence case, as it was set to conduct both promotional
function and regulatory function. However, interestingly, both policy convergence and regulatory
convergence can be observed in Korean case, as the country changed the areas of responsibility of
old KCC, by reducing the authorities that was given to the KCC when it was first established in
2008. The first KCC was a policy convergence case that integrated the promotional and
regulatory policies of the broadcasting and telecommunications sector. It literally had all
responsibilities and authorities in media. However, since 2013, KCC has been reformed to be an
organisation that controls only the regulatory domain of broadcasting and telecommunications.
Therefore, now KCC can be understood as an example of regulatory convergence, rather than
policy convergence.
Content convergence
Firstly, when a media convergence occurs in content level, it could be called as content
convergence. However, it is difficult to find a study that presented this type of convergence with
appropriate examples. Maybe, this is because film, television and radio broadcasting contents are
generally similar to what it was in twenty years ago. However, with the advent of new digital
technology and transmission technology development, some imagined that there would be quite
different types of contents available to the audience. For example, even in some policy papers that
were published by Korean government, it was predicted that audiences of a certain TV sports
programme such as baseball and football would change their view points from here to there in the
stadium while they are watching the sports events. This was one of many interactive services that
seemed technically possible in the future. However, it seems clear that this type of TV service is
not popular by now. Moreover, it was also presumed that an audience would engage in the plot of
a drama or a film so that they could choose their own preferred story while they watch the drama
and film. This particular example shows possible convergence between traditional audio-visual
contents and video games. But the thing is that this is still not quite popular in practice, and
people still tend to watch TV and film in traditional ways. Due to the technological advances such
as wireless data transmission and digital storage, now people can watch any contents anytime,
anywhere they want to watch the contents. But it seems that the content itself has not changed a
lot. The TV drama and film contents are still more likely to be quite linear and fixed ones, and the
audience enjoys an audio-visual content as it was created, and it seems that they tend not to
engage in what they are watching.
Platform convergence
Meanwhile, conceptually, media convergence could be discovered at the level of ‘platform’ in
media value chain. However, as in the case of media content, this was not the popular case which
can be seen in the discussion of media convergence in last twenty years. Platform could be
understood as an operation system which presents media contents that its provider wants to show.
For example, a platform could be an installed software programme in cable TV’s or IPTV’s
devices that transmits audio-visual contents to content receiver, such as a television or a monitor.
So, this could be an operation programme in the devices provided by BT, Sky and Virgin, or it
could be Youview, which is offered as a pre-installed EPG (Electric Programme Guide) in most
recent digital televisions. Due to the development of digital and transmission technology, now the
audience can enjoy digital TV as well as digital radio programmes on a digital TV. This can be
seen, to some extent, as an example of platform convergence, because TV platform is converged
with radio platform. However, what seems more significant in terms of digital platform in these
days is not the technical convergence between traditionally different platforms. More significant
phenomenon is the rise of totally new digital platform, which runs on a broadband network that is
not owned by the platform company. For example, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are newly
emerged platforms that offers TV programmes and films via the customer’s broadband network.
As the digital TV penetration rate increases and data transmission speed increases, this type of
platform services could have been very successful in delivering high quality audiovisual contents
to many customers around the world. But this seems more adequate to describe the platform as a
totally new platform, rather than putting it as a converged one. Accordingly, in most cases,
platform convergence has not been the centre of the discussion that are relevant to media
convergence.

Network convergence
The third model of media convergence, which is the convergence of ‘networks’ was the most
frequently mentioned model presented in previous studies (see European Commission, 1997;
Blackman, 1998; Iosifidis, 2002; Van Cuilenburg and McQuail, 2003). This has been the most
frequently addressed case of media convergence, from the earliest definition given by De Sola
Pool in 1983. Since then, the new digital network that technically converges every other network
has been at the centre of the concept of media convergence. It lasted for following twenty years,
as network convergence was seen as the most appropriate version in describing media
convergence. In other words, in many cases, media convergence meant network convergence. To
put differently, what frequently presented was practically ‘network convergence’ rather than
‘media convergence’.
Network convergence means a merging of networks that previously delivered different contents in
the past. As mentioned earlier, the development of copper coaxial cable and fibre optics enabled
such networks can be used for phone call as well as delivery of audiovisual media contents at the
same time. This enabled a broadcasting company and a telecommunication company to offer
technically same services to their customers. For example, a cable broadcaster can offer wired and
even wireless telephone service, which is called as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), in
addition to their TV subscription service. On the other hand, a telecommunication company can
offer both IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service and their existing landline/mobile
telephone services.
But what is often missed in the discussion of network convergence is that the previous modes of
transmission are still there. That is, still the radio spectrum is used as an important network source
for broadcasters, such as PSBs in the UK. Furthermore, there are still many cases that telephone
landline is exclusively used for only telephone service, as in the past. Therefore, it would not be
appropriate to say that all the networks are converged, or it is going to be all converged someday
soon. To put it in different way, there are co-existence and co-evolution of old and new networks
(Dwyer, 2010). Accordingly, in a broader perspective, it would be more adequate to say that there
has been ‘diversification’ in delivery modes, by the advent of converged network. In other words,
the network convergence has brought the divergence, in terms of total media networks. This is
fairly interesting point that this study sheds light on. This will be examined further in following
parts of this thesis, particularly in Chapter 6, where the practical development of network
convergence was investigated.
Device convergence
Last but not least, there is device convergence. It was also a popular form discussed in relevant
documents. Device convergence means the integration between different media devices. So, if a
device can present more than one traditional content, it could be called as a converged device.
Smart devices such as smartphones and smart tablet and any other network-connected computer
can be understood as the examples of device convergence. Smart device means a network-
connected computer, so this is basically the same with a computer device that is connected to a
network. They are run by computer systems, and they are connected to the internet via wired or
wireless broadband networks. But, as we have just seen above in network convergence, this does
not mean that the existing devices are being totally replaced by smart devices. Those traditional
and new smart devices are too, in co-existence status, as in the network’s case. Therefore, again,
the advent of device convergence also brings the divergence in media device as a whole.
Features of Media Convergence
Murdock (2000: 36) divides the convergence of the media on three levels: technological (satellite
communication), content-related (cultural forms), and economic (levels of influence) (related to
companies, employers and the media market). Media convergence, which is a component of
"convergence culture," is seen by Jenkins (2001; 2006) as the interaction of new and conventional
media. He takes into account the media industry and its audiences' influence in addition to the
technological revolution brought about by convergence. As a result, convergence is seen as a
continuous process and the media product as being always changing. Herkman (2012) examines
media convergence from the perspective of cross-media relationships and emphasizes that the
flow of cross-media products is a result of economic convergence.
Convergence, thus, refers to the linking of numerous media goods not just "through
intertextuality," but also in the production, distribution, and marketing processes. Thorstern and
Singer (2009) discuss content creation and convergence, while Thurman and Lupton (2008)
describe multimedia storytelling for news sites as a convergent process.
According to Islas (2009), the same material can be available across a variety of media, and
convergence is related to media ecology. He demonstrates how the way in which information is
consumed has "forced deep changes on media companies."
From the above, it is safe to itemize the following as the features/characteristics of media
convergence:
a. Multimedia interactions
b. Presence of technology
c. Combination of Different media forms
d. Use of the Internet
e. Ability to reach a multiplicity of audience
f. Blending conventional media with new media

Radio Convergence
Tan et al. (2019: 492) claim that the classic radio has an antenna that typically covers a specific
area. Major stations that are located outside of the coverage area have smaller rebroadcast
transmitters put up nearby. Small local stations are somewhat constrained by their transmitters
and the surrounding territory (Kitaki, 2019). With more people using the internet, where they
have a tendency to spend a lot of time online, digital radio has evolved from traditional radio to a
new level. There are thousands of digital radio stations broadcasting all over the world, according
to a number of radio directory portals. According to Tan et al. (2019), there is a distinction
between classic analog and digital connections because the former is received over the air and has
no bandwidth restrictions even during power shortages. According to Tan, Guo, and Wang
(2019), it may be listeners-relevant in terms of content because of which it appears to be local as
well, such as advertising, traffic updates, and news.
Tan, Guo, and Wang (2019) made a significant finding that the long bandwidth of radio stations
prevents the usage of conventional radios anyplace. The problem with this is that the person
cannot access every channel, and it all depends on the location they are using. In terms of
functionality, audience, and consumer experience, conventional radio is now being replaced by
digital radio. In contrast to traditional radio, which was aired only locally and regionally before it
was converted to digital radio, the digital radio has a global audience. People only need an
internet connection and a streaming service to listen to their preferred musician or genre on digital
radio. Tan, Guo, and Wang (2019:490) asserted that the coverage of FM (frequency modulation)
radio channels is actually extremely poor. Tan et al. (2019) further claim that compared to
traditional radio, digital radio can afford to be more specialized and eclectic. Since it is not
spatially constrained, it may easily appeal to a global audience with more specific interests and
avoid constantly attempting to please everyone, as conventional radio stations typically do.
According to Jianjie et al. (2016: 22), radio stations are at the forefront of the media convergence
phenomenon because listeners of the medium frequently look for what they genuinely want to
consume. Additionally, it enables users to access any channel or station from wherever as long as
they have an internet connection. However, a person must always be accessed through the internet
to use that particular service in order to access digital radio (Kitabi, 2019). It's significant because
radio stations are forced to produce audiovisual content that requires users to navigate visually
rather than textually. As a result, stations are encouraged to create websites with big graphics and
iconography.
Television Convergence
Another turning point in the development of the television business is now being reached. The
barriers between television broadcasting and the Internet can vanish thanks to changes brought on
by the convergence of internet service internet and new breakthroughs in digital technology. In
fact, the way we watch TV has changed significantly as a result of the internet and the "online
video revolution." This is a result of companies like Netflix, an American provider of on-demand
Internet streaming media services, as well as other well-known providers like Google's video-
sharing platform Youtube or Amazon's Prime Instant Video, which are in charge of the slew of
new and cutting-edge TV services (Murschetz, 2015).
Additionally, according to Murschetz (2015), a number of modifications in usage and engagement
patterns for TV viewers are expected, including:
a) “Lean-back, passive to lean-forward active viewing (or a combination of both)
b) The use of the remote control to the use of keyboard, infrared, voice and gesture control
c) Consuming live broadcasts to time-shifted, catch-up and on-demand TV modes
d) Single-screen to multi-screen usage
e) From single-person viewing (in the child’s room) back to multi-person family viewing in the
living room (where virtual co-viewers may be part of viewing experience by means of online
social networks)” (p.3).
Although it is believed that established media stations will continue to dominate watching with
their "big event TV" (such as prime-time event TV and huge sporting event broadcasts), the
aforementioned shifts are sowing the seeds of change for Cable television. Television like other
mass media has also converged on the Internet.
Newspaper Convergence
Mass media have undergone significant and fundamental changes due to convergence that go
beyond only technological advancements (Allan, 1999 cited in Ate & Onuwaikwu, 2019). The
lines separating conventional and new forms of communication are blurring structurally, and the
relationships between various media are increasingly defined by collaboration, complementarity,
and interconnection. The digitization and convergence processes seem to be unstoppable. Digital
media appears to be the way of the future, but it's hard to foresee what these changes will mean.
Questions regarding how traditional media companies will adjust to the new environment or even
whether they will survive at all have been raised as a result of changes taking place at many levels
(Burns, 2005).
As a result of the effect of convergence, the print media genre has faced significant obstacles as
well as opportunities. In the theory and practice of mass communication as well as related fields
like economics, politics, the arts, etc., convergence has become a popular concept (Ate &
Onuwaikwu, 2019). Rapid advancements in mass media technology, markets, production,
content, and reception have come to be associated with convergence (Quandt and Singer, 2009).
The rise of convergence was initially met with dismal response from the newspaper and magazine
industries. Their output as individual journalists and as a profession of print journalism as a whole
sharply decreased as a result of this kind of unfavorable response. Additionally, this resulted in a
lack of preparation for the future that had been foreseen and covered by journalists themselves
(Quandt & Singer, 2009). Many newspapers, magazines, and other media organizations predicted
the new technology that gave rise to convergence would be a momentary nuisance and a fry in the
pan rather than embrace the future (Ate & Onuwaikwu, 2019).
Technology was undoubtedly bringing about change, but consumer and advertiser perceptions
were also evolving, as were the ways in which consumers and advertisers used and received the
news. It is regrettable that the print media sector did not foresee this transformation, but they
should have or they should have inquired and been able to define their road to success. When the
terrible global economic downturn is taken into account, there are compelling arguments for
change (Deuze, 2006a, 2006b).
Therefore, numerous print media companies felt that the moment was right to offer free access to
online editions and reductions or eliminations of traditional printed editions in order to thrive in
the ever-technological climate; but to their dismay, they quickly come to the conclusion that since
almost all news is now free, free news was not as significant. Additionally, this behaviour was
perceived as a knee-jerk reaction (Ate & Onuwaikwu, 2019). This is due to a recent survey which
found that the younger population at some point was turning back to printed materials. Owing to
this, some academics now refer to convergence as both planned and chaotic integration (Bressers
and Meeds, 2007).
According to Miljan (2008), modern technology has created its own set of problems that have
profoundly changed print media as we once knew it. The cross-ownership of the platforms of
newspapers, the internet, television, and even radio in the same market is one of the difficulties
brought on by new technologies (Ate & Onuwaikwu, 2019). Another factor is the recognition by
the same corporations that by reusing current material they give less content in the various
platforms. They can have fewer journalists work harder by doing this.

Advantages of Media Convergence

Every day, the media tries to get our attention. We can now solve our difficulties quickly thanks
to several convergent platforms. The information on your technological devices is saturated right
now. Your learning has no bounds. The following are the key benefits that media convergence has
provided humanity:
a) The primary benefit of media convergence is that news and quality material are readily
available. It has brought about a complete transformation of the old and new worlds.
b) We currently have access to a platform where you may frequently look for target audiences and
create content in line with their interests, all thanks to media convergence. This promotes
audience integration on a worldwide scale.
c) At the moment, viewers are also creators. They make memes and share on social media. By
doing this, they draw in a global following.
d) The merging of media has changed how individuals think about and use media. It has
successfully overcome the restrictions of conventional media (Laxmi, 2021).
Challenges of Media Convergence Faced by Journalists in Nigeria
Convergence has ushered in salient modifications to the functioning and operation of journalists,
and the journalism profession at large. Although convergence is to a large extent beneficial to
media organizations and their users, it challenges the operations of journalists and their functions.
The Journalist is today faced with an increased workload due to the development of multiple
platforms and news programs. Cross-media cooperation and production create more work for the
journalist, as does the proliferation of various news programmes which are continuously in
demand for news content on each platform.
The following challenges of media convergence encountered by journalists were observed by
Erdal (2007). They are discussed thus:
a. Time Pressure
Time, as Erdal (2007) notes, is the most frequently mentioned structural constraint in the era of
media convergence. Whereas the management of media organizations wants more cross-media
cooperation and production, reporters in their daily work complain of not having the required
time. Erdal (2007) further buttresses the fact that a television reporter could in the past relate to a
fixed deadline for a news programme, but today, the increased number of televised news
broadcasts as combined with the very high demands of the radio media, social media and news
publishing companies, points towards the increment of the journalists’ workload. The journalist
will always have a news story waiting to be produced and published, a phenomenon referred to as
the news cyclone.
b. Professional Competences and the Question of Quality
The constraints of convergence are also found in the fact that different media platforms demand
different professional skills from journalists. As Erdal (2007) notes, there is no general agreement
among news professionals as to whether convergence benefits or harms the quality of news
journalism. Some advocates of convergence journalism are of the view that convergence and
cross-media work benefits journalists and media organizations, whereas, on the other hand,
journalists are often reported to be worried about their status as professionals, and the quality of
their work due to the nature of their job description and the versatility attached to it. For instance,
a journalist can work from any media platform at once but would not master any of them. And
even if there was to be a professional journalist, he would not be able to work for several
platforms at the same time, because most reporters who work for both television and radio are put
on some form of rotational work schedule.
c. Internal Competition
Another bump in the road towards convergence has to do with journalistic ambition. Cooperation
across media platforms as Erdal (2007) notes, is closely linked to competition. There is a marked
difference between what is regarded as common news, i.e. news that is shared by all media, and
exclusive stories. One example of the first may be an accident or a robbery. The main aim of the
former is to publish the news fast and get it out across all media platforms before anyone else
does. So, we see that when the news story is a product of extensive research, the media platform
that publishes the news first will get more importance. When developing investigative stories,
editors discuss whether they should be aired first on radio or television. In the case of
disagreement, the golden rule is that the medium where the reporter in question works has the
rights to the story. Medium identity is given more weight than institutional identity, something
that is reflected in the view of the editor.
d. Rise of User-created Content
An important shift in the media associated with convergence as noted by the Australian Law
Reform Commission (ALRC) Report (2012), is the rise of user-created content, and a shift in
media users, ranging from the audience to the participants. Charles Lead beater and Paul Miller
have referred to such trends as the “pro-am revolution” where the tools of content creation
become cheaper and simpler to use, thereby blurring distinctions between amateur and experts
However, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in ALRC
Report (2012) identified user-created content as a significant disruptive force that creates both
opportunities and challenges for established market participants and their strategies. The
introduction of citizen journalism into online journalism has made it a reality for everyone to
become a content creator, owner and actor, instead of being a mere passive user. The
unprofessional activities of these citizen journalists, who often lack basic training on the code of
ethics and professional conduct of journalism, have debased conventional journalism as well as
the information journalists send into public domains.
The internet as a new creative outlet has altered the economics of information production,
increased the democratization of media production and led to changes in communication and
social relationships (sometimes referred to as the rise or return of the amateurs). Changes in the
way users produce, distribute, access and re-use information; knowledge and entertainment
potentially give rise to increased user autonomy, increased participation and increased diversity.

Ethical Principles of Media Convergence in Journalism

Communication
 1. Increase in the Share of User-Generated Content in the Media
In the late 1990s, Western experts raised the issue of a lack of edited information, saying that we
were entering an era in which everyone can become a reporter (Drudge, 1998, p. 4). Numerous
bloggers, though without professional journalism education and unfamiliar with the conventions
of the genre, reached a mass audience. In 2014, a law was passed in Russia to address the problem
in that country. It would the responsibility of bloggers whose sites had more than three thousand
users per day, causing them to be considered media and subject to media-related regulations. But
in 2017, Roskomnadzor ceased to maintain a register of bloggers after Federal Law of July 29,
2017 (Federal Law No. 276, 2017) declared the provisions in the article 10.2. “Features of
distribution a blogger of publicly available information” governing the activities of a blogger
invalid (Federal Law No. 97-FZ, 2014). Today, non-professional journalists have more rights than
professional journalists, because the latter have editors, managers, and technical workers over
them. Thus, the question of a journalist’s responsibility to the reader, viewer, and listener is very
acute.
Many ethical issues are raised by comments on blogs and content in the media. Such comments
often include insults directed at other users, major figures within the material, and even at
journalists. One of the authors, Baranova as a correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda, has
repeatedly come across various insults directed at herself. However, many media outlets have
found ways to avoid violating ethical principles when working with comments.
For example, on the site of the Ekho Moskvy radio station in Russia 1990-2022 (once closed, the
site no longer exists), where there was a lot of socio-political material, often quite controversial,
only a registered user could leave a comment (Baranova, 2017; Ponomarenko et al., 2017;
Tameryan et al., 2018). The site had several stages of registration, each of which opened
increased opportunities for users. At the first stage, there were restrictions on how many
comments you could leave per day; in the final stage, which required a user provided substantial
personal information, allowed users to write an unlimited number of comments without pre-
moderation. Regarding this policy, Ruvinsky, chief editor of the site, noted, that “it is not always
save for the radio station. Sometimes it happens that a person leaves all the information about
himself and behaves inappropriately. But we believe that when a person leaves complete
information about himself, this disciplines him […] Nevertheless, we were forced to close the
commentary on some materials. As an example, when a ‘controversial’ person, such as Valeria
Novodvorskaya, dies, moderators fail: they must delete 90% of comments. Therefore, at the end
of 2014, we concluded that commenting should be closed on such materials. This is a matter of
ethics” (as quoted in Baranova, 2017, p. 57).
The same policies are followed by the “Moskovsky Komsomolets” (2017) newspaper. Its editor-
in-chief and owner noted that, “for certain materials, for example, on the Karabakh conflict,
commenting is closed. Indeed, comments in such cases can lead to serious problems, up to
protests from the Azerbaijani or Armenian embassy” (as quoted in Baranova, 2017, p. 39).
There are other models employed by the media to address ethical problems associated with the
publication of user comments. One solution is simple – site viewers are separated by their views,
and then provided with access to commenting. For example, during the Pope’s election in 2013,
the “New York Times” (2013) offered readers a mini-poll under the material requiring they
indicate their religious preference:
“Catholic” or “Protestant” and a few other parameters. Depending on the choice, the reader will
fall into a comment thread with people with the same religious profile. This was done to avoid
abuse in the comments. A similar filtering idea has been implemented by Sports.ru (2014). Users
must press a button confirming that they are a fan of “CSKA” or “Spartak”; depending on the
choice, the user will be sent to a different commentary tape (Miroshnichenko, 2014, p. 73).
Poleskov, editor of the site “Novaya Ggazeta” (2014), opined that a site must have written rules
for commenting on materials that the moderator may refer to (as quoted in Baranova, 2017). In
2015, some technical solutions appeared on the website of this publication to prevent users from
violating ethical standards. To combat trolling, a moderator can “silence” the user, that is, put him
in a mode where his comments are visible only to him and the moderator. This method works
well. In addition, moderators can infiltrate inside a comment to not only hide or delete it, but also
to inform the user that within two minutes there is a possibility to change his comment.
In Russia since 2016, notaries began to officially certify trolling on the Internet, which allows
victims of Internet aggression to file a claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage. There
has been created a law, an article 130 Criminal Code of Russian Federation (1996), but since
December 2001 it is not relevant anymore, now all the cases of using of offensive language are
considered under the article number 5.61 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian
Federation (2001).
Another big question that arises when working with user-generated content is the responsibility
for plagiarism. In Russia, there are serious fines for copyright infringement, but they are primarily
aimed at solving the problem of unauthorized use of clips and films, rather than news content and
video materials. Not the last problem associated with the use of UGC is the problem of
responsibility for mobile reporters. “This raises such ethical questions: as which tasks can be
observed with the help of mobile reporter, which not; what are the actions when the author is
arrested by the police, who is responsible in this case?” (Baranova, 2017, p. 99).
2. Overabundance of Content has Influenced the Media Business, Shifting its Focus to
the Speed of Content Delivery and its Potential as Clickbait
Even if users can somehow be controlled, what about the journalists? The consensus of online
media appears to be that the more news on the site, the better – and, as noted above, the speed of
content delivery is very important: there is often no time to fact-check or deliberate about whether
to publish material. Thus, at the end of 2014, an article entitled “Potato took root in the vagina of
a Colombian woman” (Baranova, 2017), reprinted from the “Daily Mail” tabloid (Daily Mail,
2014), was published on the website of “Komsomolskaya Pravda” (2014). The question arises:
“Was there really no other news on this day?” The chief editor of the site “Komsomolskaya
Pravda” (2014), O. V. Nosova, answers, “the fact is that we have many correspondents, and they
themselves can post news on the site. It’s difficult to control everyone. But today there is a
tendency to the need to protect the reader and, possibly, not to give such kind of materials”
(Baranova, 2017, p. 95).
Whether or not there is such a trend is a moot point. On the same site of “Komsomolskaya
Pravda” (2013) there are many articles that were explicitly written based on numerous comments
and reposts (after all, the employee’s salary often depends on their quantity), but often, journalists
chasing likes achieve the opposite effect. For example, to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the
birth of I. S. Turgenev at the end of 2013, an article entitled “How Turgenev miraculously
escaped from the Bigfoot” (Chernykh, 2013) appeared on the website (and in the print edition)
(Baranova, 2017, p. 160). The material talks about the meeting of Turgenev with humanoid, after
what Turgenev tried to ran away. The author wrote, “history often appears in articles and
television programs about the unknown. Convincingly confirming that the Bigfoot is a real
creature. Which, of course, did not just happen to the hunter. Ufologists believe he liked this
“female”. And what?
Turgenev was a healthy man. A good sexual object for the yeti, the offspring will be strong,
strong” (Baranova, 2017, p. 160). The article received only seven comments (with five users
indicating they did not like it). Here we agree with columnist Michael Marinaccio, who notes that
modern media organizations are locked in steel shackles, since they are simultaneously expected
to be arbiters of truth and jesters. If it is possible to remove the role of comedian from them, most
likely it will be possible to keep the news as a public good and leave the media as the guardians of
information and knowledge (Marinaccio, 2016).
Such a change is possible. Here is a hopeful example: By the same memorable date on the site, it
published another article, “You are the only support and support for me, Oh, great, powerful,
truthful and free Russian language” (Baranova, 2017, p. 160). The article contains interesting
facts from Turgenev’s life: it is said that he was a pioneer of civil liberties in Russia, and was
known in the West as a chess player. The author also talks about his difficult relationship with
Turgenev’s mother. This article received 64 comments, to the questionable article’s seven. Note
that the professional crisis associated with the fact that journalists often act as “jesters” is also
experienced by the media of other countries. For example, 48.3% of the members of the Madrid
Press Association surveyed believe that the sensationalism and “yellowness” of journalism has
turned it into a spectacle (Paisova, 2018, p. 69).
Many ethical issues are raised by online blogs (diaries) of journalists on media sites. The blog
genre implies complete freedom of expression for the author, both in terms of content and stylistic
expression (Karpovskaya et al., 2019). This statement conflicts with the legal and ethical
standards of a journalist. Does a journalist remain a journalist when keeping a blog on a
publication’s website; does he assume responsibility for its content? Fake journalists, without a
professional education, come from the blogosphere, where various illegal actions, up to the
hidden propaganda of Nazism, are welcomed. A blogger does everything for likes and reposts; the
era of new media is coming, the era of Twitter and Facebook. We can say, that Twitter &
Facebook appear to have substantially cut down the number of personal blogs.
Often, journalists allow themselves to make offensive statements on blogs and social networks,
which contradicts the principles of ethics and the norms of media law (Black & Roberts, 2011;
Couldry, 2013; Ward, 2010, etc.). According to the authors of the present work, the most striking
example of such an ethical breach was the article by the New York Times’ Stephen Levitt (2007)
on his “Freakonomics” blog, published on the newspaper’s website, about how easy it would be
to carry out a terrorist attack on board an airplane under the restrictions that airlines and the TSA
impose on passengers. He described in detail scenarios for possible terrorist attacks. He also
proposed the topic of organizing such crimes to readers, and they offered their options. These
reflections of the journalist make it possible to better plan real terrorist acts, even if they do not
generally provoke them.
The editors of the world’s leading media, of course, are trying to find solutions to emerging
problems. Many global media outlets have already incorporated requirements for employees’
social media behaviour into their corporate standards (Tameryan et al., 2019). For example, the
“New York Times” Company’s journalistic ethics strategy in the Websites and Blogs section
says: “Nothing can be published under the brand of our company or any of our divisions, without
going through editing or moderation ...” (New York Times, 2022).
There is also an important note in this section that “even a private blog of an employee is most
likely associated in the minds of the audience with the reputation of the company. Therefore, even
on blogs that were not created on the publication’s website, newspaper employees should think
about respect for the dignity and privacy of other people [...] employees can chronicle their daily
lives, but should not defame or humiliate others. Texts may include photos and videos, but
without offensive images. Journalists must not disclose personal or confidential information
obtained through the editors...” (The New York Times, 2022).
Members of the New York Times’ editorial staff are also prohibited from speaking on social
media on issues that may cause public conflict and accept sponsorship from individuals or
commercial entities.
3. Increase of Branded Media Content
Another ethical issue associated with the development of online versions is online advertising
(Seib, 2001, p. 10). The share of entertainment, advertising and PR content is growing, crowding
out a journalistic product, and traditional journalism is being transformed into a medium that
expands its functions – one that “incorporates the characteristics of journalistic, advertising and
PR text: about 80% of media content is in some way connected with the execution of the
customer’s order (with ‘customers’ in this case meaning advertising services and PR structures)”
(Miloslavskaya, 2016, p. 580). News stories often include a link to a relevant sponsor; for
example, the travel section may contain a link to a travel agency. The advantage for the advertiser
is the prospect of an immediate response.
In the late 1990s, the “New York Times” was criticized for carrying advertising by Barnes &
Noble, a chain of booksellers. If a visitor to the newspaper’s website bought a book using the link
from the website, then the website received commissions. Such a mechanism may create the
temptation, for commercial reasons, to review books that are most likely to be bought. It is very
difficult to maintain the line between editorial and advertising content, combining the interests of
both journalism and the media business. In other words, journalism as a business has failed in the
task of providing news in the form of a public good. Popular media are forced to serve two
incompatible masters: justice and profit. Journalism across the world is more dissolved by
advertising. When analyzing features of the development of modern Latvian journalism, Shnaider
(2018) concluded that, “due to economic difficulties, advertisers began to influence the country’s
media market: large companies, private banks. They began to use media channels to disseminate
their information and promote their ideas. Now they began to admit to the editorial issue, up to
changing the language and style of journalistic material” (Shnaider, 2018, p. 174). She concludes:
“The growth of brand journalism and corporate communications is the next step in the process of
transforming traditional media in the Latvian media space” (Shnaider, 2018, p. 174). Thus, an
increase in the share of advertising and PR content leads to a decrease in the share of journalistic
product.
The development of technology today continually poses new ethical issues that require reflection.
For example, the development of data journalism entails a problem associated with the processing
of data by machine methods. Journalists often collect data on social networks; the problem is that
robots that extract information do not distinguish whether between closed and open profiles, and
whether information is presented to friends or to everyone; finally, they do not receive consent
from people to process their information. However, as noted by the famous Soviet and Russian
scientist N. N. Moiseev in “The Fate of Civilization. The Way of Reason” (Moiseev, 2000),
technological progress has always been ahead of the moral and spiritual development of man.
Worldwide researchers in data journalism are also considering ethical issues that may arise in the
automated creation of content. For example, they note that it is published without editorial
oversight, which means that it may contain various kinds of errors. Reg Chua, innovation
manager at Reuters, notes that the agency generates 950 media alerts and 400 daily materials that
are published without human input (as quoted in Fanta, 2017). This is quite enough to make a
conclusion, that the introduction of systems that allows automated content creation will be
financially impractical if there will be human editors. Further, Lin Weeks, in an article entitled
“Media Law and the Copyright of Automated Journalism,” notes that machine-generated content
raises complex copyright issues. Weeks suggests that rights can even be transferred to the
computer program itself (Weeks, 2014).
Worldwide researchers considering data journalism also raise other ethical questions: when
creating texts, should programs consider the parameters of objectivity, responsibility, and
accuracy? Questions also arise about data integrity, because missing elements can lead to bias in
the creation of content (Fanta, 2017).