Introducing a converged news operation is rarely easy. Those trying to introduce changes in workflows, roles and responsibilities are often met with resistance.
Media Helping Media received a request from a national newspaper in the Caribbean for advice about introducing newsroom convergence.
The person who contacted us had met resistance to change from senior newspaper staff who feared that convergence would threaten their jobs, strip their newspaper of resources, and weaken its impact.
What they had failed to grasp is that newsroom convergence is an essential editorial and business strategy. It involves the creation of a ‘content factory’ delivering news to whatever device/format the audience uses in order to receive their news.
The following is the advice we shared, which was followed and implemented.
The challenge of converging news operations
Merging different news platforms (print, TV, online, and all digital and social outlets) into a single, unified operation, known as “convergence,” is an essential process for the survival of a media business. However it is often faces significant resistance.
Why resistance occurs:
- Fear of change: Existing departments, especially the dominant ones, often view convergence as a distraction or a threat to their established workflows and roles.
- Lack of senior leadership buy-in: Without strong support from top editors and managers, convergence efforts can be met with negativity or half-hearted attempts.
How to overcome resistance and implement convergence:
- Establish clear business imperatives:
- Senior management must communicate clearly the necessity of convergence for the media organisation’s survival and future success.
- They need to explain why it’s essential, what it entails, how it will be implemented, and who will be responsible.
- Convergence should be integrated into a new, well-defined business model with a solid business plan.
- Secure unwavering senior management support:
- All senior leaders must fully embrace convergence based on its business logic.
- They must communicate the implementation steps to all staff and address how each department will be affected.
- Address staff concerns:
- Acknowledge and address staff fears, which may include:
- Dilution of responsibilities and loss of status.
- Challenges in managing different publishing cycles (daily/weekly vs. real-time).
- The need to learn new technologies.
- Concerns about a potential decline in quality.
- Acknowledge and address staff fears, which may include:
- Create a centralised “Content Factory”:
- Establish a “superdesk” as a central command-and-control area for all news production.
- Ensure close collaboration between input, production, and output teams.
- Implement a single, comprehensive news meeting involving representatives from all platforms (print, broadcast, online, social media, etc.).
- Change the mindset from deadline driven output, to verified information driven output.
- Align objectives and appraisals:
- Make convergence a core business objective that filters down to departmental, unit, and individual goals.
- Incorporate convergence performance into staff appraisals.
- Tailor convergence to your specific needs:
- Recognise that convergence is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
- Adapt the process to fit your organisation’s location, market, audience, and potential.
- Ask the important questions:
- Is your media business keeping pace with changing audience behaviour?
- Are you maximising all content exploitation opportunities?
- Are you effectively informing public debate across all platforms?
The importance of convergence:
- Convergence is crucial for the survival and future viability of media organisations.
- While staff may have doubts, it’s essential to move forward with a clear and decisive strategy.
- The challenge for media managers is how to articulate that strategy in a way that is convincing, inclusive, positive for the individuals involved, and which assures all that it is the only way to future-proof the media organisation’s business.
Questions
- What is newsroom convergence, and why is it considered an essential strategy for media businesses?
- Identify two main reasons why senior newspaper staff might resist newsroom convergence.
- Describe the role of senior management in successfully implementing convergence in a media organisation.
- What is a “content factory,” and how does it function within a converged newsroom?
- Explain how convergence can be tailored to fit the specific needs of a media organisation.
- Discuss the importance of aligning objectives and appraisals with convergence goals.
- How can media managers effectively communicate the necessity of convergence to their staff?
- What are some potential staff concerns regarding convergence, and how can they be addressed?
- Analyse the impact of convergence on the quality of news production and distribution.
- Evaluate the statement: “Convergence is crucial for the survival and future viability of media organisations.”
Answers
- Newsroom convergence is the merging of the news gathering, production and distribution of different news platforms into a single operation. It is essential for media businesses to adapt to changing audience behaviours and maximise content exploitation opportunities.
- Resistance may occur due to fear of change and lack of senior leadership buy-in.
- Senior management must clearly communicate the necessity of convergence, integrate it into a business model, and secure support from all leaders.
- A ‘content factory’ is a centralised ‘command-and-control’ area for news production, ensuring collaboration across platforms and focusing on verified information.
- Convergence should be adapted to the organisation’s location, market, audience, and potential, recognising it is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
- Aligning objectives and appraisals ensures that convergence becomes a core business goal, influencing departmental and individual performance.
- Media managers should articulate a clear, inclusive, and positive strategy that assures staff of convergence’s necessity for future-proofing the business.
- Staff concerns include dilution of responsibilities and learning new technologies. Addressing these involves acknowledging fears and providing support.
- Convergence can enhance quality by ensuring consistent, verified information across platforms, though it may also challenge traditional publishing cycles.
- Convergence is crucial as it allows media organisations to remain competitive and relevant in a rapidly changing media landscape.
Lesson plan for trainers
If you are a trainer of journalists we have a free lesson plan: ‘Newsroom convergence‘ which you are welcome to download and adapt for your own purposes.
We have more resources about convergence, how to introduce it, and the workflows and roles and responsibilities involved.
