Translating the tower of babel? Issues of definition, Language, and culture in converged newsrooms

Burton Silcock, Susan Keith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study sought to determine how convergence is defined by the journalists involved and to identify areas where news operations that adopt convergence encounter language- and culture-based challenges. It draws on the developing literature of convergence and interviews with journalists and managers working at two convergence partnerships: the Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV in Tampa, Florida, and the Arizona Republic and KPNX-TV in Phoenix, Arizona. The research, based in the Shoemaker and Reese theory of a hierarchy of influences on media content, showed that convergence was redefined in Phoenix, creating a less-integrated “co-(re)-recreating” model not previously described in the literature. In addition, it demonstrated that though language differences do not hamper convergence cooperation, different broadcast and print newsroom cultures can prove detrimental.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)610-627
Number of pages18
JournalJournalism Studies
Volume7
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006

Keywords

  • Broadcasting
  • Convergence
  • Journalism
  • Language
  • Newspaper
  • Newsroom culture

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication

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