Journalism and Transmedia Storytelling

When you consider the changing face of journalism and the concept of transmedia storytelling, it seems like the two are an ideal match. Jenkins states that transmedia storytelling is, “a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story” (Jenkins, 2010). With the decline of print journalism and the increase in media convergence, this idea of telling stories through multiple platforms and having unique content on each one, appears to be the answer media owners and journalists have been looking for.

Transmedia storytelling is a relatively new and exciting concept that is considered to be the “ultimate 360 approach to storytelling –360content, 360platforms and with the potential for the full 360experience.” Alison Norrington, a novelist and Ph.D researcher says, “Its success relies on fragmenting a narrative and making each platform do what it does best which, in turn, extends the life and longevity of the story” (Norrington, 2010). Telling stories through numerous media platforms has worked successfully for the film industry, as The Matrix for example, has conveyed information to audiences through three films, a series of animated shorts, comic books and multiple video games (Jenkins, 2010).

Many publications have already tried the basics of transmedia storytelling by enabling audiences to read their stories via various platforms such as print and online (Ford, 2007). Numerous publications also now offer different parts of their articles on different platforms, for example, you might read an article online and then be directed to the print version in order to read the entire story. However, publications have not fully embraced transmedia storytelling by completely fragmenting their stories and using different platforms to deliver separate parts of the story in order to give the narrative longevity. A news article written by a journalist is usually only read once, whereas a story that is initially presented in a film and is then conveyed through books and video games has a much longer life cycle and is more favoured by audiences (Jenkins, 2010). Perhaps this is why journalism is suffering.

Kevin Maloney, a veteran journalist and journalism educator, says journalism has always been constrained, whether this has been by the inverted pyramid writing style or the 30-second broadcast time limit. Although he says this can have positive effects on the journalist, as it can help them become a better and more concise writer, Maloney supports transmedia storytelling (Maloney, 2011). In Maloney’s case study, ‘Porting transmedia storytelling to journalism,’ he says, “to reach the public with a story we journalists see as important or compelling means that we must find the public where it already dwells. There we must engage readers so that they are more likely to pay attention to the story, share it, interact with it, contribute to it and understand its complexities” (Maloney, 2012).

In order for transmedia storytelling and journalism to be a success, the story would need to be designed this way from the beginning. Maloney says, “Editor’s must consider what media are available to them and how the individual strengths of those media can be used to the story’s advantage.” He says organisations would need to use popular platforms like Youtube and public TV to broadcast parts of their stories in order for readers to find them and he says there are certain stories that would be more suitable for transmedia storytelling rather than others. For example, he says short, daily news stories about a crime or a disaster from the day before may unfold too quickly, however investigative pieces that take longer to progress would be more suitable (Maloney, 2012).

One of the primary roles of a journalist is to tell stories. It is up to the journalist to find a newsworthy idea, investigate it and then report it to the public (Journalism: Wikipedia). A successful story is one that has a long-term impact on the reader; most news stories do not have this effect. The face of journalism is rapidly changing as we know it. We are experiencing a decline in print media as readers can access the same stories in newspapers or magazines as they can via the Internet; the problem is that no content is unique. Transmedia storytelling is the perfect solution to this issue, as this would mean that journalists could assemble their stories so that different parts of the narrative could be presented on different platforms, however they all could contribute something valuable to the story and more importantly, engage readers like never before (Holubowicz, 2011). “[A] transmedia approach to reporting is not about the technology, or the platform, or the cost-cutting measures - it's about the story and how best to report that story” (Ford, 2007).  

References: 

Ford, S. (2007). Transmedia Journalism: A Story-Based Approach to Convergence. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from http://www.convergenceculture.org/weblog/2007/04/transmedia_journalism_a_storyb.php

Holubowicz, G. (2011). Introduction to Editorial transmedia, why we need to move forward? Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://www.o2creation.org/2011/03/08/introduction-to-editorial-transmedia-why-we-need-to-move-forward/

Jenkins, H. (2010). Confessions of an Aca/Fan: Transmedia Storytelling 101. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html

Journalism. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalism

Maloney, K. (2011). Porting Transmedia Storytelling to Journalism (Thesis). Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.bond.edu.au/pqdlink?vinst=PROD&fmt=6&startpage=-1&vname=PQD&RQT=309&did=2510689501&scaling=FULL&vtype=PQD&rqt=309&TS=1329545833&clientId=21143

Maloney, K. (2012). Transmedia Journalism. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://transmediajournalism.wordpress.com/

Norrington, Alison. (2010). Transmedia Storytelling – What’s it all about?  Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://futurebook.net/content/transmedia-storytelling-–-what’s-it-all-about

Journalism and Convergence

In this technology driven and dependent age, journalism of all professions has arguably been most affected by convergence. Jenkins (2010) states that convergence is, “The flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences who would go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they wanted.” Prior to the introduction of computers and the Internet, print forms of media like newspapers and magazines were most popular. Now, with the presence of convenient and transportable devices like mobile phones, laptops and tablets, media is converging, which has lead to a slow decline in print journalism.

This may seem like old news, as for over the past few years the decline of print journalism has been extremely prevalent in our society. The statement ‘old news’ is part of the reason why convergence is affecting traditional journalism. As Jenkins (2010) stated, audiences will go almost anywhere to find the information and entertainment they need and want, which is part of the problem. In the past, audiences could only read the news by buying a newspaper, now; there are several, often easier ways one can find out what’s happening in the world around them (Bird, 2010).

When deciding who is responsible for this convergence, all fingers point to the audience. Internet usage has grown rapidly over the past several years (Internet World Stats: Usage and Popular Statistics, 2011), as has the popularity of Apple iPads and iPhones (Michaels, 2011); therefore it seems to be the public who craved this convergence of media. Newspapers and other forms of media are only created to satisfy the public; therefore, it should only be expected that publications would respond to trends and converge their media to suit the audience’s need and wants.

But what does this increase in convergence mean for the future of journalism? One can say that it will have a positive effect, as convergence has allowed audiences to receive their news like never before and has allowed them to become more involved and interested in the news (Bird, 2009) or one can argue that journalism shouldn’t completely converge, as traditional forms of media showcase a higher-quality standard of journalism, which is lacking in newer, more popular forms (Mosco, 2009).

In her case study, ‘Convergence Journalism: a threat to print journalism?’ Lydia Miljan (2008) states that convergence not only poses a threat to journalism itself, but also to the journalist. She says that as media platforms start to converge, fewer journalists are needed, as publications are now requiring many journalists to be a 3-way or a 4-way journalist, which means they must be multi-talented and be able to produce content for many different media platforms, not one just one. This means that publications require fewer journalists, as one journalist can apparently do the job of four.

In the past several years we have all experienced the rise of the blogger and the citizen journalist. Now it seems that anyone with a pen and paper, or more so a laptop or phone, can witness a newsworthy event and write about it and garner an audience. However, many traditional journalists argue that, “Amateur bloggers typically have no editorial insight, no training in the craft, and no respect for the new media’s rules and standards … blogs are poorly written, self-absorbed [and] hyper-opinionated” (Miljan, 2008). Although citizen journalists and bloggers may be seen as a threat, is there anything journalists actually need to be worried about? Would the public really prefer to receive their news from an unqualified writer compared to an experienced journalist? Statistics show that 80 per cent of bloggers actually have a degree or are currently completing one (Mershon, 2011); therefore maybe these new journalists should be seen as a threat to traditional ones.

The public can now access their favourite titles via so many different media platforms, such as iPhone applications, online versions and more. Although there are now more than 2 billion internet users around the world, statistics show that people still prefer to read their news in the print form (Langeveld, 2009). The answer to this convergence dilemma is perhaps that media outlets should continue to offer both print and online versions of their publications, as they need to satisfy all audiences, not just some. With all this amazing technology available, which has presented us with ways to receive our news like never before, why would we give it all up and go back to just traditional forms? If news had never moved online, the public would not have the say they do now, as audience members can now comment on stories, re-tweet them, etc. The Daily is a great example of how media convergence has given us a completely unique, virtual news experience that we wouldn’t get from traditional forms of media (See video below). The solution is that media should continue to converge, not compete with one another, after all, converge means to connect, not disconnect.

References:

Bird, Elizabeth. (2009). The future of journalism in the digital environment. Journalism, 10 (3), 293-295. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://jou.sagepub.com.ezproxy.bond.edu.au/content/10/3/293

Internet World Stats: Usage and Population Statistics. (2011). Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Jenkins, H. (2010). Confessions of an Aca/Fan: Welcome to Convergence Culture. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.henryjenkins.org/2006/06/welcome_to_convergence_culture.html

Langeveld, M. (2009). Print is still king: only three percent of newspaper reading happens online. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/04/print-is-still-king-only-3-percent-of-newspaper-reading-actually-happens-online/

Mershon, P. (2011). Seven Reasons to Rethink your Blogging Strategy: New Research. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/7-reasons-to-rethink-your-blogging-strategy-new-research/#more-13010

Michaels, P. (2011). Apple reports record sales, profits for third quarter. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.macworld.com/article/161212/2011/07/apple_third_quarter_earnings.html

Miljan, L. (2008). We the Media - Convergence Journalism: A threat to print journalism? Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://theendofjournalism.wdfiles.com/local--files/lydiamiljan/lydia%20miljan.pdf

Mosco, V. (2009). The future of journalism. Journalism, 10 (3), 350-352. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://jou.sagepub.com.ezproxy.bond.edu.au/content/10/3/350

Rupert Murdoch unveils iPad newspaper The Daily. (2011). Retrieved February 6, 2012, from http://www.news.com.au/technology/tablets/ipad-only-publication-the-daily-unveiled/story-fn6vigfp-1225999145465