Convergence has gained an enormous amount of attention in media studies within the last several years. It is used to describe the merging of formerly distinct functions, markets and fields of application, which has changed the way companies operate and consumers perceive and process media content. These transformations have not only led business practices to change and required companies to adapt to new conditions, they also continue to have a lasting impact on research in this area. This book’s main purpose is to shed some light on crucial phenomena of media and convergence management, while also addressing more specific issues brought about by innovations related to media, technologies, industries, business models, consumer behavior and content management. This book gathers insights from renowned academic researchers and pursues a highly interdisciplinary approach. It will serve as a valuable reference guide for students, practitioners and researchers interested in media convergence processes.

This volume offers a timely examination of technology's impact on media companies and the results of convergence among media industries, considering the effects on journalistic, business, and economic practices. Media Organizations and Convergence: Case Studies of Media Convergence Pioneers considers the many definitions of convergence and explores the changes in communication technologies. Author Gracie L. Lawson-Borders provides a brief history of media segments and their evolutions as they adapt to emerging technologies, media conglomeration, and the competitive and global changes that have occurred in the industry. She also examines the theoretical implications of technology and convergence in the operations and practices of media organizations. The case studies included here profile three media convergence pioneers--Tribune Company in Chicago, Media General in Richmond, and Belo Corporation in Dallas--that have incorporated convergence into their journalistic practices. Lawson-Borders considers the social, cultural, and political implications of convergence, and presents issues and concerns for the future of convergence in the media industry. As a snapshot of media convergence at the current stage in its evolution, this book offers important insights into the business of media at a time of dramatic change. It will be a valuable resource for scholars and students in media management, mass media, and related areas of the media industry.

Repurposing print journalism for the Internet and beyond, convergent journalism invigorates and transforms how we create and experience media. The present book outlines and investigates the broad theoretical and conceptual issues surrounding this emergent subject.

The Media Convergence Handbook sheds new light on the complexity of media convergence and the related business challenges. Approaching the topic from a managerial, technological as well as end-consumer perspective, it acts as a reference book and educational resource in the field. Media convergence at business level may imply transforming business models and using multiplatform content production and distribution tools. However, it is shown that the implementation of convergence strategies can only succeed when expectations and aspirations of every actor involved are taken into account. Media consumers, content producers and managers face different challenges in the process of media convergence. Volume I of the Media Convergence Handbook encourages an active discourse on media convergence by introducing the concept through general perspective articles and addressing the real-world challenges of conversion in the publishing, broadcasting and social media sectors.

This edited volume explores different meanings of media convergence and deconvergence, and reconsiders them in critical and innovative ways. Its parts provide together a broad picture of opposing trends and tensions in media convergence, by underlining the relevance of this powerful idea and emphasizing the misconceptions that it has generated. Sergio Sparviero, Corinna Peil, Gabriele Balbi and the other authors look into practices and realities of users in convergent media environments, ambiguities in the production and distribution of content, changes to the organization of media industries, the re-configuration of media markets, and the influence of policy and regulations. Primarily addressed to scholars and students in different fields of media and communication studies, Media Convergence and Deconvergence deconstructs taken-for-granted concepts and provides alternative and fresh analyses on one of the most popular topics in contemporary media culture. Chapter 1 is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

Media convergence is often propounded as inevitable and ongoing. Yet much of the governance of the media sector’s key parts has developed along discrete evolutionary paths, mostly incremental in character. This volume breaks new ground through exploring a diverse range of topics at the heart of the media convergence governance debate, such as next generation networks, spectrum, copyright and media subsidies. It shows how reluctance to accommodate non-market based policy solutions creates conflicts and problems resulting in only shallow media convergence thus far.

Driven by the fascination about dramatic structural and competitive changes within telecommunication and information technology in dustries during the past decade, the convergence phenomenon has increasingly gained my personal attention throughout my work and studies. Therefore, not entirely coincidentally, this book was written as the result of my doctoral research at ETH Zurich, which turned out to be a challenging, yet highly rewarding endeavor. However, this work would not have been possible without the enduring support of several people. First, I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis supervisor Prof. Fritz Fahrni, for providing me with the opportunity to conduct exciting research projects in close collaboration with industry, and for supporting me with solid guidance and advice all the way. Also, I would like to thank Dr. Christian Marxt, for urging me to pursue the chosen line of enquiry, as well as for his devoted coaching, both at ETH and at Stanford, both within and beyond of?ce hours. Furthermore, I am grateful to Prof. Georg von Krogh, for his encouraging feedback and valuable comments during various inspiring discussions.