| Summary: | Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. === The arrival of the Internet and digital technology the past decade has revolutionised the media industry worldwide. Newspapers cannot exist separately from other media forms any longer. Newspaper companies have increasingly started to experiment with the incorporation of the electronic media, such as the Internet, in their newsrooms. The term media convergence originated in an attempt to give meaning to the phenomenon whereby different media forms come together or exist in synergy with each other.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the phenomenon of media convergence from a newspaper perspective. The focus is firstly on developments on the international media front, whereafter the emphasis is on South Africa. A Research/field study is aimed at determining the knowledge and perceptions of media convergence of the editorial teams of Media24’s three Afrikaans sister newspapers – Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad.
Different definitions of media convergence were considered in an effort to formulate an appropriate definition for the purpose of this study. In terms of this definition media convergence entails the coming together or synergy between different media entities within the same company. A technologically advanced environment with digital multimedia content management systems is conducive to successful convergence. The characteristics of the digital and multimedia newsroom are discussed in a separate chapter.
A literature study was undertaken to give an overview of international media convergence practices and existing research on the topic. The focus is not only on how media convergence manifests itself in different parts of the world, but also on the attitudes toward and perceptions of the phenomenon by journalists. The South African media landscape and examples of convergence is discussed, with specific reference to Media24, owner of Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad. Non-empirical research by means of a survey amongst 60 respondents was conducted to test the knowledge and perceptions of the editorial teams of these three newspapers on media convergence. Multimedia newsrooms operated with the assistance of digital technology is a common phenomenon in many countries. Cooperation across media also exist in the majority of newsrooms in South Africa, but the phenomenon is not as conceptualised locally as in the rest of the world. Differences in the structures of media companies, as well as divergent legislation, have a significant effect on how media convergence manifests itself in a specific country or newsroom.
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