Media Convergence Consequences

Media Convergence Consequences

Media convergence is inevitable. Changes in the traditional forms of how media is owned, managed, created and distributed will result in changes in the manner in which media practitioners will approach problems and issues. There will be a whole new pile of ethical challenges and quandaries to face when such events take place. Many new ethical challenges will be presented to journalists because convergence will open doors to new and different options. These new options may be unfamiliar to journalists not faceted with the right knowledge which will, in turn, cause new challenges on how to approach problems in the most ethical way.

I think that media convergence is a good thing on most levels. Ownership convergence can get a bit tricky with monopolization, but for the most part I think media convergence is inevitable. One company owning a newspaper, television station, radio station and website makes sense, in that, it is the most comprehensive and collaborative way to produce news accurately and efficiently to an audience. Media convergence is an excellent way to introduce cross-promotion and develop a strong name and image for a news organization. Integrated marketing communication professional help business like advertising agencies, public relations firms and designer firms collaborate to produce the best brand image and total package for clients and media convergence can do the same for the news audience.

Media convergence will bring many challenges to existing ethical standards. The current traditional media forms follow their own specialized codes of ethics. Ideally, the codes should be similar but it is not a stretch to say television and newspapers run a bit differently. Journalists will have to have an understanding of the unique capabilities of different communications media (Gordon).

Ethical values may change with convergence. Journalists