Innovating in a Crisis: Canadian Media Actors Assess the State of Convergence

Abstract

Our content analysis conducted in 2007 revealed little evidence of convergence practices in television networks and newspapers owned by Canwest Global, CTVglobemedia, and Quebecor. In 2009 and early 2010, we interviewed executives and journalists of the media groups studied, as well as other stakeholders, to assess the current situation and speculate about the future of convergence in Canada. Respondents generally acknowledged that TV/print newsroom integration had not succeeded and that future convergence efforts would focus on delivering content online and developing a viable economic model for news production. Respondents offered diverse perceptions of conventional media’s ability to reinvent and sustain themselves as the principal news sources for Canadians. Emerging models include the development of a corporate news service, specialization in certain topic areas, and crossmedia collaboration.RÉSUMÉ Notre analyse de contenu réalisée en 2007 n’a révélé aucune preuve substantielle de convergence entre les nouvelles télévisées et les journaux appartenant aux groupes Canwest Global, CTVglobemedia et Quebecor. Nous avons réalisé une série d’entretiens auprès de gestionnaires et journalistes des médias étudiés, de même que d’autres acteurs du milieu, en 2009 et 2010, afin de recueillir leur évaluation de la situation actuelle et leur vision de l’avenir de la convergence médiatique. De l’avis général des participants, l’intégration des nouvelles télévisuelles et de la presse écrite ne s’était pas réalisée et les initiatives futures s’orienteront surtout vers l’offre en ligne et la rentabilisation des contenus d’information. Ils ont émis des points de vue variés quant à la capacité des médias conventionnels de se réinventer et se maintenir en tant que sources principales d’information pour les Canadiens. Parmi les modèles émergents identifiés : le développement d’agences de presse corporatives, la spécialisation thématique et la collaboration entre médias.

Media crisis and its effects on digital journalism careers in Canada

“…Despite these local differences, the Canadian media market is highly concentrated, a process that started in the 1980s (Demers 2003) and intensified with the introduction of digital technologies (Brin and Soderlund, 2010; Demers and Le Cam, 2012). This concentration is also the result of the federal government’s policy to encourage the creation of national champions as a way of protecting the sector in a highly competitive global market.…”

“…According to the Canadian Media Concentration Project (2020), the media conglomerates Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor accounted for 56.4% of revenue across the network media economy. Part of the revenue from cross media operations comes from synergy gains and staff reduction (Brin and Soderlund, 2010).…”

Converged conversations

“…Early in the digital evolution of the news media, much attention was given to the idea of convergence as a way of looking at legacy (or traditional) media forming partnerships to deliver content across multiple technological platforms, such as newspapers teaming up with television stations to share stories (Brin and Soderlund, 2010; Duhe et al, 2004). As economic pressures mounted on both broadcast and newspaper companies, such partnerships have waned in favor of individual outlets using the web to deliver multiple types of content, such as videos, photos, and written stories (Avilés and Carvajal, 2008; Kraeplin and Batsell, 2013).…”