Media convergence

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In journalism , broadcasting law and communication science, media convergence is the convergence of different individual media . This approximation can be analyzed in terms of economic, technical or content-related aspects - the basic requirement for any type of convergence, however, is technical convergence (cf. e.g. van Dijk, 2006; Latzer, 1997). The technical convergence triggers organizational, production, content, usage and audience convergence (cf. Quandt 2008). When designing the consequences of convergence, the possibility of social divergence must always be taken into account. The focus moves from the so-called " digital divide ", i.e. the questions and possibilities of technical access, to cultural competencies and social skills ( media competence / media literacy; cf. Jenkins 2009) and at the same time focuses on the fragmentation of the audience.

Example convergence of telecommunications and entertainment industries

In his essay on technology and movies in the mid- 1990s, Martin Polon predicted a convergence of the telecommunications and entertainment industries in the future ; he assumes that the consumer will accept new forms of distribution:

“Households will be connected to entertainment and information sources via video cables and / or fiber optic lines from the telephone company and / or direct satellite transmission. The connections partly enable mutual communication like with a two-way cable ” .

Take the convergence of the computer and entertainment industries as an example

Nicholas Negroponte of the Media Lab of MIT also predicted the mid-1990s a convergence of television receivers and computers ; he leaves it open as to whether computers tend to degenerate into intelligent televisions or televisions tend to mutate into computers. Negroponte believes that both are "one and the same" and advises television manufacturers to invest in the future and produce PCs.

The fundamental difference between today's televisions and PCs is not the respective location in the work or living room, their social characteristics or the urge for entertainment, but solely the question of "how the bits arrive" . Negroponte alludes to the push or pull principle. However, he does not see any opposing principles in this, but rather complementary modes for “distributing bits” .

As early as April 1995, the first articles by Alexander Gäfe from Germany appeared on the merger and new use of different media and the resulting new distribution channels. Black holes on the air .

Development opportunities

In general, three development tendencies are conceivable when a new medium is introduced:

Absorbance
In the replacement or displacement media is largely replaced for example by a technical innovation. Such a process arose, for example, after the introduction of the compact disc (CD), which massively reduced the importance of the analog record as a playback medium for voice and sound recordings. Such developments tend to be the exception in the media sector.
Convergence and coexistence
In the process of convergence and supplementation , one medium is not displaced by another, but only supplemented; two technologies then exist side by side. One reason for coexistence can be, for example, the existence of specific suitability of the media for different purposes. Such a process occurred, for example, after the introduction of the music cassette (MC), which did not displace the analog record .
evolution
Something specific new arises when a new medium is developed that offers really new uses; other technologies are not displaced, but may well be influenced. There was such a process, for example, after the breakthrough of the information superhighway in its actually existing form as the Internet , which offered completely new possibilities - from Usenet to peer-to-peer , weblogs and Ebay to wikis .

research

Convergent developments can be examined in a wide variety of contexts .

The growing together of the media (“media convergence”) was triggered by technical developments - above all the digitization of traditional media and the establishment of the world wide web - and is being driven by technical developments and the associated economic momentum. The result is a profound change in the economic fundamentals of the media and a redefinition of the characteristics of the media genres and their delimitation from one another. This results in challenges for research and teaching in the field of media technology, media management and media management.

The process of media convergence can be understood as a result of a branched chain of influencing factors that begin with the development of media technologies, influence the media industry and media management, are reflected in changes in media professions and media offerings, shape media use and media effects and new ones Demand a legal framework for all aspects mentioned.

neologism

The adjective "media convergent" is a neologism and was invented by Alexander Gäfe in 2000 to describe a new media format and the description of its distribution via various platforms and distribution media. The term found its way into the public through various articles in the press.

See also

literature

  • Chris Anderson: Free: The Future of a Radical Price . Hyperion, 2009, ISBN 978-1-4013-2290-8 .
  • Nicola Döring: Social Psychology of the Internet. The importance of the internet for communication processes, identities, social relationships and groups. (= Internet and psychology. New media in psychology. 2). 2., completely revised and exp. Edition. Hogrefe, Göttingen et al. 2003.
  • Ulrich Dolata , Jan-Felix Schrape : Internet, Mobile Devices and the Transformation of Media. Radical change as gradual reconfiguration. Edition Sigma, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-8360-3588-0 .
  • Rüdiger Funiok : media ethics: responsibility in the media society. W. Kohlhammer, 2007.
  • Johann Günther: Digital Natives & Digital Immigrants. Studien Verlag, 2008.
  • Jeff Jarvis: What Would Google Do? Collins Business, 2009.
  • Henry Jenkins: Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York University Press, New York 2006.
  • Henry Jenkins et al: Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. 2009. newmedialiteracies
  • R. Kaumanns: Convergence or Divergence? Expectations and preferences of consumers for the telecommunications and media offers of tomorrow . IBM study, 2006. (PDF)
  • Jaron Lanier: You are not a gadget. Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.
  • T. Quandt: Media Innovations and Convergence. Forms, factors and fields of media change. Unpublished habilitation thesis. Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich 2008.
  • Frank Schirrmacher: Payback. Blessing, 2009.
  • R. Silverstone: Television and Everyday Life. Taylor & Francis, 1994.
  • James Surowiecki: The Wisdom of Crowds. Anchor Books, 2005.
  • Don Tapscott, Anthony D. Williams: Wikinomics. The revolution on the net. dtv, 2009.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jason E. Squire: Movie Business Book . Könemann, Cologne 1995, p. 491.
  2. ↑ Nicholas Negroponte: PCs will be televisions - or vice versa? (Read Me). In: Hyper! 12/1995.
  3. ↑ phil.uni-sb.de ( Memento of the original dated December 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.phil.uni-sb.de
  4. ↑ Burkhard Schmidt: Death on the Net. In: The world . January 17, 2001, accessed June 18, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Dirk Engelhardt: The steel Born project. In: Berliner Zeitung . February 12, 2001, accessed June 18, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Interactive web thriller in planning. "Stahlborn" is also to be adapted for television. In: Press text news agency. January 23, 2001, accessed June 18, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Frank Lehmkuhl: Films: Robbie's uncensored horror strip. In: Focus 20/2001. May 14, 2001, accessed June 18, 2015 .