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April 2000, Vol. 11, No. 4
Convergence
Whether it’s in video, audio or war-torn East Timor, it’s still journalism
With the U.S. news business in something of turmoil in recent weeks -- witness the proposed merger of Tribune Co. and Times Mirror Co., the excitement from newspapers of Thomson, the sale of my beloved San Francisco Examiner to the publisher of local weeklies -- it’s easy to lose sight of the proverbial ball:
Journalism.
The technology aspects of newspapers and magazines are the focus of this little journal and so our writing naturally tends to drift toward business issues as well. But that word "journalism" resides in the middle -- between technology and publishing -- in the nameplate. Sometimes I forget.
But this month’s crop of stories -- they all seem to center on that hackneyed term "convergence" -- made me realize, once again, that journalism is the primary mission of the news business.
First, we take you to Norman, Okla., where the National Press Photographers Association sponsored the second Platypus session. The idea behind Platypus -- which is a mammal that lays eggs like a bird or reptile -- is that photographers should not be just the makers of still images nor the makers of motion pictures. They should do both.
First-time contributor Amy Bowers -- part of the Platypus faculty -- takes us through the week-long session and shows us that it is possible for still photographers to learn about the needs of motion video, because the baseline is this:
You need to tell a story.
Conversely, I brought together seven members of the Cole Group staff to discuss the issues of convergence. Well, I brought them together digitally, because in this virtual business they are scattered like inserts from a broken and wind-blown Sunday paper -- all over the country.
So, an e-mail conversation about convergence was accomplished and, you know what these experts decided?
You need to tell a story.
Next, another first-time contributor, Kellie, K. Speed, takes us on the odyssey that journalists who have problems with mobility must traverse -- the need to use speech recognition software. In the early days, speech recognition was almost as painful to use as typing with repetitive stress-injured hands. Today, it’s much easier to use, but what compels journalists to go to the trouble?
They need to tell a story.
And if we thought U.S. newspapering was in turmoil, a contribution from Bob Howarth sets us straight. An Aussie newspaperman who has worked throughout the Pacific, Howarth is the editorial technology manager for Queensland Newspapers Pty. Ltd. of Brisbane. It’s hard to tell whether Howarth was coerced into helping set up a new daily newspaper in war-torn East Timor or whether he did it gladly; nonetheless, there is no question that Howarth and the Timorese were forced to start the Timor Post. Why?
They need to tell a story.
Journalism can be a burnout business and we have all witnessed hard cases fall by the wayside. But perhaps technology will allow some journalists to venture into arenas they had never envisioned (like motion video or continued writing or editing despite health problems or publishing a newspaper on a photocopy machine.)
Perhaps convergence will breathe new life into the business.
-- David M. Cole
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