Caroline James, cjames2011@gmail.com
Dylan Sams, dylanrussell23@gmail.com
Sydney Spiro, sydneymspiro@hotmail.com
On June 18, 2010, Dr. Aimee Edmondson led a seminar titled “From Notebook to Web” for students attending Ohio University’s High School Journalism Workshop.
Edmondson introduced the rise of convergence journalism, the idea of combining different types of media to present a story.
“[Convergence journalists] need to be good at everything—future employers [will] ask, ‘can this person write, take pictures and do multimedia?’” she said.
Workshop participant Jessica Luczywo, from Stow-Monroe Falls High School said that online journalism is high speed, but reporters must be careful not to jeopardize accuracy for speed.
“Online convergence has forced journalism to be as current as possible, but it has also detracted from the relevancy,” Luczywo said. “[People are] always looking to update a story rather than upgrade it.”
During the class, Edmondson showed the students an example of convergence news on a website created by OU students. The easy-to-access site featured video clips and articles on local human-interest stories.
The ability to view an up-to-date news source represents just one way that the face of journalism is changing, Edmondson said. “We’re reinventing ourselves,” she said.
The world of print journalism has faced the onslaught of numerous competitive mediums since its beginning, Edmondson said.
“When TV was born, everyone said ‘The sky is falling!’” she said. “[Online media] should just enhance [journalism].”
While it is unclear what the future of journalism will be, it is certain that it is an ever-evolving field, workshop participant Savannah Kannberg from Solon High School said.
“Print journalism has to change,” she said. “With each step forward, we continue the progression of journalism and we make it better.”
For more information about convergence journalism, visit 2010.soulofathens.com and hanskmeyer.com.
