Last Updated: August 18, 2000
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Convergence...
The word has popped into the vocabularies of newspaper editors.
Is it a poetic description of 21st century media flowing smoothly like
rivers to the sea?
Or, is it a train wreck waiting to happen as newspapers, television
and online journalists tussle at the intersection of people's multimedia
interests?
Tribune Co., parent of the Chicago Tribune, The Orlando Sentinel
and powerful broadcast and Internet franchises, clearly has trailblazed
the new territory of media convergence. Five years ago, Tribune was a lone
pioneer on the path to integrate print, TV and online media into platforms
and delivery channels that were shared.
Today, convergence has taken on a life of its own.
Newspapers across the country are actively exploring alliances with
television stations and online partners. Newspaper photographers are being
equipped with video cameras. Newspaper reporters are doing stand-ups for
TV.
It's not always easy. And the question remains whether convergence produces
better journalism.
Still, the trend isn't likely to abate. In this issue of\ The American
Editor, editors from two newspapers that have most recently taken the path
toward convergence share lessons they have learned.
Executive Editor Gil Thelen of The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune and Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel Editor Marty Kaiser offer some perspective on what convergence
has meant to their newsrooms...
