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Diversity of Journalisms. Proceedings of ECREA/CICOM Conference, Pamplona, 4-5 July 2011
De limburger, Het Parool, and Algemeen Dagblad). The choice of newspapers in this
research phase was based on location (division over north, south, Randstad (west)),
and a balance in the three major Dutch regional publication companies: Telegraaf
Media Groep, NDC Mediagroep and Wegener. All interviews were audio or video
taped.
In our analyses of the level of convergence we distinguish between organizational
convergence (number of staff, company policy, business approach etc.) and editorial
convergence (use of UGC, cross-media cooperation, SEO and online traffic etc.).
Results
Organizational convergence
Asked after the typical features of organizational convergence, all interviewees said
that they aimed for a broadening of their Internet presence with different new media
outings. All news media say they employ blogger-journalists.
In this respect exemplary remarks are:
We no longer are a newspaper editorial board anymore. We are a multimedia
newsroom.
It is all about the recognition that the world is changing [...] This means that journalists
need to change to.
Which convergence strategies are embedded in the structure of a publishing
company differs greatly. At several newspapers, the online editorial board is part of
the hard copy newsroom, forming an integrated newsroom with different levels of
convergence. In other newsrooms, the online journalists are physically separated
from the hard copy editorial board. We also came across newspapers with a fully
integrated newsroom that was then dismantled because of a change in ownership; its
online editorial board moved to another city. Or, an online office that is solely
responsible for website structure and advertising, while the journalists all have access
to the site and publish according to their own insight and timing.
In some cases, journalists voluntarily used tools such as RSS, video productions, live
blog, or Twitter. In all these cases, the communication between the online and the
hard copy editorial board was characterized as below standard.
In this respect exemplary remarks are:
Cooperation is not the way it should be. There is too little cohesion.
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