Online journalism:

research methods

A multidisciplinary approach in
comparative perspective

Marcos Palacios
Javier Díaz Noci
(eds.)

argitalpen Zerbitzua
Servicio Editorial

www.argitalpenak.ehu.es
ISBN: 978-84-9860-191-6
 Marcos Palacios
Javier Díaz Noci
(eds.)

ONLINE JOURNALISM:
RESEARCH METHODS
A multidisciplinary approach in
comparative perspective
ISBN: 978-84-9860-191-6
Contents
INTRODUCTION 11
1. TYPOLOGY OF ONLINE MEDIA 15
1.1. Introduction 15
1.2.Relevance of the Typologies 17
1.3. Proposal for a Cybermedia Typology 19
1.3.1. Typologies Centred on the Actions or Development of the 19
Cybermedia
1.3.2. Typologies Centred on Communication Models 21
1.3.3. Typologies Centred on the Elements that Make Up the 23
Cybermedia
1.3.4. Typologies Centred on the Aim of the Cybermedia 23
2. GENRES IN ONLINE JOURNALISM: A TYPOLOGICAL PROPOSAL 25
2.1. Criteria for the Classific ation of Journalistic Genres 25
2.2. Theoretical and Methodological Framework of Research in Genres on 27
2.3. Analytical Proposal 30
2.3.1. Rhetorical Criteria 30
2.3.2. Hypertextuality 31
2.3.3. Multimediality 32
2.3.4. Interactivity and Participat ion 34
2.3.5. Temporality 35
2.4. Infographics 36
3. NEWS AND DATABASE ARCHITECTURE 39
3.1. Search methodologies for news architecture 39
3.1.1. Theoretical Context and State of the Question 39
3.1.2. Structure in the Cybermedia 42
3.1.3. Analysis o f the Hierarchy of Elements 43
3.1.4. Applied Model for a Case Study 44
3.2. Methodologies of Database Analysis in Online Journalism 46
3.2.1. Theoretical Context and State of the Question 46
3.2.2. Databases as Paradigm and Metaphor 49
3.2.3. From the Syntactic Web to the Semantic Web 50
3.2.4. Methodology of Analysis 51
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES IN JOURNALISM DESIGN ON INTERNET 53
4.1. Origins of Research and Methodologies in Cybermedia Design 54
4.2. Proposal for Combining Traditional and Innov ative Methodologies 56
4.2.1. Descriptive Methods 56
4.2.2. Interview and Questionnaire Put to Experts 59
4.3. Studies Centred on the Audience 60
4.4. Complementary Methodologies 65
 4.5. Final Presentation of the Results 65
5. NARRATIVITY 67
5.1. Hypertextual Narrativity 67
5.1.1. Theoretical Bases for the Study of Hypertext 67
5.1.2. Superseding Lineality: Hypertext as Intertextuality 68
5.2. Methods of Researching the Hypertextual Narrative 70
5.2.1. Hypertextual Structures 70
5.2.2. The Semiotic Approach 79
5.2.3. The Rhetorical Dimension 80
5.2.4. Hypertext and Cognition: the Psychological Approach 82
5.3. Reading Hypertexts 83
6. METHODS OF RESEARCHING PARTICIPATORY JOURNALISM 91
6.1. State of the Question 91
6.2. Methodology of Weblog Analysis 93
6.2.1. Profile of Bloggers 93
6.2.2. Blogs and Journalism 94
6.2.3. The Journalist-Blogger 97
6.3. Citizen Journalism Within and Outside the Professional Media 98
7. PRODUCTION ROUTINES 101
7.1. The State of the Question 101
7.2. Methodological Proposals for the Study of the Profession and 104
Production Routines in Online Journalism
7.2.1. Quantitative Methods 104
7.2.2. Qualitative Methods 107
8. MEDIA CONVERGENCE 111
8.1. Conceptual Note on Media Convergence 111
8.2. International Studies on Media Convergence 114
8.3. National Studies on Media Convergence 116
8.4. Methodologies for the Study of Media Convergence 117
8.5. A Particular Case: Analysis of Information Flows in News Agencies 122
8.5.1. Demarcation between Convergence and News Flow 123
8.5.2. Analytical Proposal 125
9. TEACHING ONLINE JOURNALISM AND ITS EVALUATION 131
9.1. The Impact of Digital Technologies 131
9.2. Study of Changes Teaching 133
9.3. Research Methodologies 136
9.3.1. Survey 137
9.3.2. Content Analysis 138
9.3.3. Discussion Groups and Focus Groups 138
9.3.4. In-depth Interview 140
BIBLIOGRAPHY 143
LIST OF AUTHORS 179
8
Media Convergence

1. CONCEPTUAL NOTE ON MEDIA CONVERGENCE

Before it became an idea associated with journalism, the concept of con -

vergence was employed in fields as disparate as mathematics, economics or
biology (Gordon, 2003). Since the late 1980s, the term “convergence” has
been used to refer to a variety of concepts related to the technological trans-
formation of telecommunications; it has had heterogeneous meanings, com -
plementing each other on occasions and elusive on others. This is due to the
variety of approaches and perspectives adopted in studies on media conver -
gence: business (Killebrew, 2005; Lawson -Borders, 2006), juridical
(Clements, 1998), technological (Forgacs, 2001; Idei, 2002), multiplatform
(Theorodopoulou, 2003; Thompson, 1999) and cultural (Jenkins, 2006), all
of which highlights the close relationship amongst technologies, industries,
markets, genres and audiences.
Certainly, there is no single and unanimously accepted definition of the
concept of convergence. In fact, a great part of the research related to this
question underlines the difficulty of reaching such a consensus. And this
conceptual discrepancy affects both the academic and the professional
literature. However, there are differences between the two. The academic
literature usually favours systemic definitions of convergence, covering
different fields of communication, and the definitions thus tend to be broader
and multidimensional. On the other hand, professional definitions are usually
more reductionist and are often limited to logistical aspects of the media,
particularly the workings of newsrooms and production processes.
This conceptual discrepancy does not, however, usually find a linguistic
correlate. Facing the disparity in the definitions, a clear consensus can b e
appreciated when it comes to designating them as “convergence”. Conscious
of this terminological problem, some authors propose alternative terms
(combined promotion, cooperation, coexistence, coordination, fusion… ) as
ways of defining specific forms of convergence (Dailey et al., 2003). Simi-
larly, what is emphasised is that convergence does not involve a brusque
change, but rather a gradual evolution of the coexistence between traditional
communication techniques and processes and other innovative ones ( Ce-
brián, 2001).
Hence the concept of “media convergence” refers to a process of inte-
gration of traditionally separate modes of communication, affecting compa -
112 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

nies, technologies, professionals and audiences in all the phases of the pro -
duction, distributi on and consumption of contents of any type. This process
has deep implications for company strategies, technological change, the
elaboration and distribution of contents on different platforms, the
professional profile of journalists and the forms of acces sing contents. In this
respect, Gracie Lawson-Borders (2006: 4) defines convergence as “an en-
semble of concurrent possibilities of cooperation between printed and elec -
tronic media in the distribution of multimedia contents through use of the
computer and Internet”. It follows from her definition that the Internet and
computers are the aggregating sources of contents generated by different
media and distributed through different platforms.
Technological convergence refers to the capacity of infrastructures to
acquire, process, transport and simultaneously present voice, data and video
on a single network and an integrated terminal. The new applications and
services overlap and come together in the computer, telecommunication and
audiovisual sectors. Rich Go rdon (2003) considers the stage of technological
convergence to be a necessary and obligatory one for the evolution of the
convergent processes.
Meanwhile, company convergence makes possible the creation of
alliances, temporary unions, fusions, takeovers o r new companies. The only
restrictions are the guarantee of pluralism and avoidance of the transfer of
dominant positions between some sectors and others.
In the professional field, convergence results in different strategies for
making the maximum use of news material, which then appears in different
media. Such strategies range from forms of cooperation between the news-
rooms of different media to the creation of integrated multimedia news -
rooms, where all the messages are centralised, assignments are mad e and the
flow of information is channelled to bring out the printed, audiovisual and
online versions of the contents. This poses the question of journalists
assuming a greater level of polyvalence in order to produce contents for
several formats.
Finally, convergence also affects the journalistic product, since it per -
mits modification of both the formal characteristics of the contents, and au -
dience habits in using and interacting with those contents. In the environ -
ment of media convergence, communicatio n is characterised by the
immediacy, multimediality, interactivity, participation, depth, non -lineal
structure and personalisation that it offers to users.
Professional convergence – our main object of analysis – is being im -
planted in numerous media, when ever the journalist is asked to cover the
news story for television, for the radio and to prepare a version for Internet.
In the latter field, convergence is conceived as the use of resources on
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 113

different platforms for joint work and information distributi on in a coordi-

nated way.
In order to facilitate conceptual and terminological clarity, we reproduce
the definition of “media convergence” proposed by Salaverría, García Avilés
and Masip (2007), as a basis for this chapter:

Media convergence is a multidim ensional process that, facilitated by

the generalised implantation of digital telecommunications technology,
affects the technological, business, professional and publishing area of the
mass media. It favours an integration of tools, spaces, working method s and
languages that were formerly dispersed, in such a way that journalists pro -
duce contents that are distributed through numerous platforms, using the
specific languages of each of them.

Convergence affects different areas of the organisation of the ma ss me-

dia. To the degree that convergent processes develop, these areas trigger
their own processes of reconfiguration and repositioning in order to adapt to
the new reality.
Shown below are the principal areas and the eventual reconfiguration
processes:

Area Reconfiguration process

Definition of ontologies for:

Product innovation –management and
Strategy and global infrastructure -relation with the client
business model

Financial aspects
Technological plan Publishing systems, databases , interfaces
and equipment

Organisation and Hierarchical reorganisation, physical reform,

management training

Organisational culture Climate, management and personnel; edu -

cational profiles
114 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

Operational processes Narrative genres and formats of the cyber-

medium

Non-conventional contents and tools

Market and relation with Social media, microsegments, economy of atten -

the user tion

As we shall see, the increase in research in media convergence in the

national and international spheres reveals a growing interest in this object of
study, together with the need to design increasingly exhaustive and complete
methodologies.

2. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ON MEDIA CONVERGENCE

At the international level, the first academic reflections on multimedia

convergence appeared in the late 1970s. This was when authors like Nicho -
las Negroponte (1979) began to refer to the nascent phenomenon of digitali -
sation, and its consequences for the diffusion and combination of textual and
audiovisual languages.
Given its novelty , the studies on media convergence included not only
works of an empirical character, but also purely theoretical analyses that
attempted to demarcate, with unequal results, a valid conceptual framework
for defining this relatively new concept. Given that it is methodological as -
pects, above all, that interest us in this book, we will mainly concentrate on
the research models adopted in empirical research. However, it seems justi -
fied to make a brief mention of the theoretical proposals that attempt to de -
fine the concept of convergence.
As we have noted, the theoretical studies are not exactly characterised by
consensus in proposing a definition of that concept. On the contrary, as
many as three different and, to a certain point, consecutive schools can be
detected:
1) Convergence as confluence of technologies. The first definitions of
convergence correspond to this school. These identify it as the combina -
tion of different linguistic codes as a result of digitalisation (Ne groponte,
1979, 1996; De Sola Pool, 1983; Fidler, 1997; Castells, 2001).
2) Convergence as system. The studies that have stressed the systemic
character of convergence can be classed here. They define it as a
complex and multidimensional phenomenon that covers different inter -
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 115

connected spheres – technological, business, professional, linguistic…

(Flynn, 2000; Singer, 2004; Killebrew, 2003; Klinenberg, 2005; Gordon,
2003; Jenkins, 2001).
3) Convergence as process. Accepting the systemic character of media
convergence, the authors who adopt this approach draw attention to the
fact that for convergence to be suitably studied, it must be conceived as a
process subject to gradation (Dailey et al., 2003; Lawson-Borders, 2003;
Applegreen, 2004).
Based on the conceptual framework provided by these theoretical
studies, empirical research in media convergence has also adopted different
models, although certain common notes can be detected.
The first similarity concerns the form of convergence studied. The great
majority of studies analyse the convergence phen omena occurring in the
media newsrooms, or phenomena concerning the professional profile of the
journalists who work there. In comparison, other spheres of convergence,
such as technological convergence, for example, have received much less
attention. On consideration, it is not surprising that this should be the case
given that, at the end of the day, research in journalism is included in the
field of the social sciences and not in that of the experimental or technical
sciences. Therefore it is logical tha t research should be centred on the more
specifically journalistic aspects of this phenomenon.
Facing this relative consensus on the form of convergence studied,
greater disparity arises concerning the object of study selected for research.
A large part of the research, especially the early studies, tended to analyse
the phenomena of convergence in isolated media (Cottle, 1999; Duhe et al.,
2004; Huang et al., 2004; Ketterer et al., 2004). However, with the spread of
the systemic view of convergence mention ed above, more recent empirical
studies have tended to concentrate on the communication groups, rather than
taking one of their media as the object of study (Klinenberg, 2005;
Boczkowski and Ferris, 2005; Boczkowski, 2004).
Finally, with respect to the research methodologies for analysing con -
vergence in newsrooms, the authors of these studies have basically had re -
course to two, frequently complementary, forms: interviews and participant
observation.
Interviews, normally semi -structured with some open questions and
others closed, seek to obtain a detailed explanation of the modes, conse -
quences and value -judgements concerning convergence, both from
managers and, above all, from conventional journalists. On the other hand,
participant observation is usually employed by researchers as a mode of
directly witnessing the dynamics of professional relations set underway
when there is a shift in the models of business organisation (Cottle, 1998).
116 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

3. NATIONAL STUDIES ON MEDIA CONVERGENCE

The panoramas of studies on convergence in Spain and Brazil are fairly

similar and are marked by a lack of works. In Spain, the approach to the
research of newsrooms as such was virtually unexplored until 2005. When,
at the start of the XXI century, convergence began to be talked about, every-
thing seemed to indicate that the question was of interest to both communi -
cation companies and academics. However, the lack of definition about
exactly what was understood by convergence, and how to put it into practice
and deal with the problems it implied – technological problems, the training
of professionals, the integration of newsrooms that had worked separately for
decades – meant that its attraction faded for some years.
In fact, we still lack consolidated studies in this field in Spain. H owever,
the outlook for the coming years gives cause for hope. On the one hand,
there are researchers interested in the question who have analysed cases of
convergence in newsrooms in other countries (García Avilés, 2002, 2006;
García Avilés et al., 2004).
On the other hand, studies have been made that, while not dealing with
convergence directly or exclusively, have thrown light on the concept and on
the problems involved in its implementation in journalistic routines, as well
as on determinant technologi cal and training factors deriving from this.
There are numerous contributions in this respect as it has been approached
from very different fields (Domingo 2002, 2004, 2005; Salaverría 2003,
2004; Díaz Noci, 2004; López, 2004; Masip, 2002, 2003, 2005; Scol ari et
al., 2006).
It is also worth drawing attention to the existence of research projects
with a regional scope that have dealt with convergence in an indirect way:
this is the case of the project funded by the Basque Studies Society analysing
the impact of Internet on the mass media in the Basque Country and Navarre
(Meso et al., 2005) or the studies developed in Catalonia around the Institut
de la Comunicació [Institute of Communication] (Corominas, Moragas,
Guimerà, 2005; Domingo, 2005). The research group at the University of
Santiago has also worked on the question in the area of Galicia (López, Gago
y Pereira, 2003 and 2004).
Many of these researchers, coming together around the generic subject
of online journalism, developed a line of research, fund ed by the Ministry of
Science and Technology, that analysed “The Impact of Internet on the Mass
Media in Spain” between the years 2002 and 2005. A large part of this work
is collected in the book Cibermedios [Cybermedia], edited by Ramón
Salaverría (2005).
Amongst the contributions made by the work of this network, two in
particular should be mentioned : the identification of convergence as an in -
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 117

dependent subject of study, around which many interacting aspects rotate;

and the formation of a stable, numerou s and representative work team, which
includes many of the academics who have worked in recent years on ques -
tions related to the press and technology from very different viewpoints.
Since the year 2006, this team has enjoyed official support thanks to a n ew
project with public funding: “Digital Convergence in the Mass Media in
Spain” (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, 2006 -2009). The project covers
six specific areas where convergence is taking place: technologies, contents,
media, professionals, companie s and audiences. This project, which is
getting underway, brings together twenty researchers who aim to cast light
on the concept of convergence, draw up a map of experiences of conver-
gence in Spain and establish common guidelines that will be of use to t he
media, to professionals and in the training of future journalists.
The Brazilian scenario can be defined as equally disheartening. The Bra -
zilian news companies have been conservative and resistant to innovations.
Their character as family businesses an d the power they exercise in the so-
cial fabric strengthen their monolithic posture, tied to the security of a con -
solidated product, technology and market and a monomedia profile.
Along with the publishers, the same atmosphere is found amongst the
professionals, who show a traditionalist profile, with an image of the
profession built on an ideal of journalism that is somewhat remote from the
changes brought by the irruption of the ICTs.
The Brazilian companies have made little advance in the direction of
convergence or, at least, of integrating their newsrooms. In reality, the timid
initiatives undertaken conceive of multimedia as the creation of a new
product making use of contents produced by pre-existing newsrooms, and
not as the integration of the whole process in the same space. The launch of
G1, linked to the newspaper O Globo and the portal Globo.com, falls into
this category, as does the attempt made by the group Rede Brasil Sul.

4. METHODOLOGIES FOR THE STUDY OF MEDIA CONVER-

GENCE

Any approach to a phenomenon as complex as that which concerns us

here, must also be complex, if it is to be capable of studying it in all of its
magnitude and in its different forms.
Convergence should not be understood as a point of arrival, but as a
multiple process wh ose affects are felt from the phase of contents production
to the phase of consumption (Jenkins, 2006). Different authors (Dailey et al.,
2003; Lawson-Borders, 2003; Applegreen, 2004) indicate that the approach
to each of the phases that make up the processes of convergence must be
dealt with separately, in order to avoid confusion, in spite of the fact that
118 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

each of those fields cannot be totally dissociated from the others. This sys -
temic character of convergence directly affects the methodologies that mus t
be used to undertake the study of the phenomenon.
In the abundant literature – essentially North American in origin – that
has dealt with the study of media convergence, there is a clear predominance
of the use of methodologies of a qualitative type. Quantitative methods are
mainly used in research that attempts to extrapolate data on a population, and
in research that is centred on analysing the process of contents convergence.
Huang et al., (2004), for example, apply content analysis to determine
whether the process of convergence experienced in The Tampa Tribune has
affected the quality of its news. The same method is used by DuPlessis and
Li (2006) in their study on technological convergence and its impact on the
digital contents of the hundred princip al newspapers of the United States.
We set out with the conviction that an approach to the phenomenon of
media convergence is not possible employing exclusively quantitative crite -
ria, which have limitations in their explanatory ability (Cabrera et al., 2007).
That is why we opt for a double approach to the phenomenon, selecting
quantitative and qualitative methods. Amongst these, ethnographic observa -
tion or field observation is, in our opinion, the technique that best permits an
approach to the study of convergence and its effect on professionals. Al -
though it is difficult to generalise from its results, field observation makes it
possible to obtain valuable information facilitating a detailed analysis of
human behaviour.
In Brazil, Elizabeth Saad has made a preliminary, tentative proposal for
the adoption of the model of global performance evaluation developed by
Hamilton Luís Corrêa in his research group in the FEA/USP (Corrêa, forth -
coming). This is a methodological model that enables account to be taken of
the diversity of variables involved in processes of convergence. The model
sets out from a conception of the linkage of executive phases, structured on
the basis of a broader evaluation of the news company concerning the speci -
ficity of the convergent process adopted in each area of its operational
process. Four phases are distinguished: 1) Organisational evaluation and
strategic positioning; 2) Positioning with respect to convergence; 3) Identifi -
cation of the organisational areas involved and existing sub-processes; and 4)
Grouping of results and definition of common elements. Obviously, the re -
searcher starts out from a stage prior to the executive phases, in which con-
cepts, delimitations and the specificity of the setting, amongst other aspects,
are defined/unified.
Following Jankowski and Wester (1993), field observation makes it
possible to study groups in their natural context, through the researcher’s
participation in the everyday life of the people who are the object of study.
For a limited peri od of time, the researcher observes the things that happen,
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 119

listens to what is said and asks questions. Field observation includes in -depth
interviews, analysis of documents and unstructured observations.
Wimmer and Dominick (1996) classify unstructured ob servations
according to two basic criteria: a) the degree to which the researcher partici-
pates in the activity that is the object of observation, and b) the degree to
which his research is made public. Four dimensions are obtained from the
intersection of these two axes: 1) the researcher does not participate in the
object of study and is clearly identified by the individuals under observation;
2) the researcher participates in the phenomenon studied and the individuals
who are the object of analysis know about the work he is doing; 3) the re-
searcher does not participate in the object of study, but the subjects under
observation do not know his true purpose; and 4) the researcher participates
in the object of study and the individuals under observation are unaware that
he is carrying out research. Although in the opinion of some authors only the
final scenario described can be considered participant observation, it is in -
creasingly frequent in the current bibliography to refer in a generic way to
any type of field observation as participant observation.
One of the main advantages of observation is that, since it does not re -
quest information but instead registers behaviour, the latter is spontaneous,
more real, and is not based on answers that might be subje ctivised by the
evaluation of the observed subject himself, concerning what is, or is not,
correct. However, it is important not to overlook the effect that the presence
of the researcher himself might have on the behaviour observed. Amongst
other drawbacks, field observation does not enable information to be ob -
tained on the reasons for actions, and observers can be subjective in regis -
tering data. Another important obstacle is that behaviour might be affected
by momentary circumstances (Báez and Pérez de Tudela, 2007).
The duration of observation, data gathering and the selection of case
studies are fundamental elements in this technique. There is no established
formula for setting the precise time of observation, although a broad period
of analysis is nee ded to obtain a deeper understanding and an overall vision
of the reality observed. In spite of this recommendation, there is a predomi -
nance of short visits, of one week or less, in the research concerning media
convergence carried out to date. This is the case in the research done by Jane
Singer (2004), in which she examined convergence in four North American
media groups, or in that of José Alberto García Avilés (2007) concerning the
group Almería Novotécnica.
Data gathering is another fundamental and cr itical element. Normally,
notes are taken systematically, and as faithfully as possible to the observa -
tions made, in order to capture the entirety of the processes and contexts
observed. Finally, with respect to case studies, authors like Pablo
Boczkowski (2004) underline the relevance of the objects of study being
120 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

journalistic companies or multimedia corporations, rather than individual

media. The cases selected must be representative, which is why one should
rule out selection by statistical criteria of representativity, such as
probabilistic sampling. However, these are applicable if the option chosen is
quantitative observation, which enables a large quantity of data to be
gathered on files for subsequent statistical analysis. Unlike field observation
of a qualitative type, which does not permit generalisation, it is possible with
quantitative observation to extrapolate the data obtained to the whole of the
population. This type of approach, however, is very unusual in research in
convergence processes.
Interviews are a technique that is highly enriching and complementary to
field observation. The main advantage of interviews is that they enable in -
formation to be obtained that it would otherwise be difficult to identify on
the basis of direct observation alone, such as feelings, opinions, intentions,
etc. From the practical point of view, they help in adaptation to the rhythm of
the professionals, who would be unlikely to attend a focus group (Fernández
Nogales, 2004).
Interviews usually last for approxim ately one or two hours. For the
successful development of an in -depth interview, Fernández Nogales makes
the following recommendations: 1) respect the order in which subjects
emerge; this order should only be subtly redirected if it strays from the ob -
ject; 2) do not rely on a script during the development of the interview; 3)
avoid giving one’s own opinions and suggest points in a neutral way; 4)
leave more specific questions to the end, and, by way of conclusion, ask the
interviewee to make a synthesis an d prognosis of the evolution of the sub-
ject.
There is no uniform criterion on the number of interviews that should be
held in a case of this nature, although this will logically depend on the size of
the newsrooms involved, the geographic scope of their audiences and the
specific characteristics of each medium. Jane Singer (2004) held 120 inter -
views with different individuals from the newsrooms of four groups studied:
editors, managers, journalists, presenters, photojournalists, etc. In spite of
this example, a tendency can be perceived to hold a smaller number of
meetings. García Avilés (2007) interviewed ten members of Novotécnica,
selected to obtain representatives of all the phases of the productive process.
Dupagne and Garrison (2006), for their part, carried out in-depth interviews
with twelve members of the staff of the Media General group.
As one can intuit from the examples above, it is recommendable that the
interviewees should be selected according to their functions and participation
in the convergence processes studied (Cabrera, et al., 2007). Although it is
not the only method possible, Silock and Keith (2006) used the so -called
snowball method to select the professionals to be interviewed. This method
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 121

consists in each informant identifying oth er people who should be inter-

viewed. In their case, fourteen interviews were held with representatives of
the newspapers Tampa Tribune and Arizona Republic, and the televisions
WFLA-TV and KPNX-TV.
Approaching the phenomenon of convergence on the basis of interviews
is a habitual formula in the available literature on the question. Often, inter -
views form part of field observation, as defined by Jankowski and Wester,
but different authors have also used them in an exclusive way, as the only
research techni que. Stephen Quinn (2006) is outstanding in this respect; he
held fifteen interviews with academics and professionals with executive
responsibilities in convergence processes.
In spite of being one of the most widespread methods in communications
research, the use of surveys, and of quantitative methods in general, for the
study of convergence has until now been in a minority. Even so, there are
different examples of research that have opted to use surveys to deal with the
analysis of the phenomenon.
Surveys make it possible to approach a phenomenon in the real context
in which it occurs, and to obtain a wealth of information at a reasonable cost.
Obtaining information is relatively easy, without there being any need for
large infrastructure or for mobilisi ng a large number of people. Obviously,
the use of surveys also presents problems and is not a perfect methodology.
Thus, for example, while surveys make it possible to put two variables into
relation, they are not suitable for establishing causalities. Wi mmer and
Dominick (1996) mention other drawbacks: the people interviewed are fre -
quently unable to remember information related to their activity, there might
be a so-called prestige bias or, obviously, the subjects interviewed might lie
when responding to the questionnaire.
As in participant observation, two key elements in the survey are the
data-gathering questionnaire and the selection of the sample. With respect to
the sample, random sampling methods must be applied, starting out from a
well-defined population and, if possible, with a complete conceptual frame -
work, from which the elements of the sample can be selected (Trespalacios
et al. 2005). This, for example, was the system used by Huang et al. (2006)
to establish the sample for their study on the main concerns of the North
American media industry facing media convergence. For his part, Bressers
(2006) carried out a survey of the 79 predominant media in the 50 largest
metropolitan areas of the United States.
With the spread of the use of Internet, web forms and electronic mail
have now been added to the traditional systems for carrying out surveys –
mail, telephone and in person. Although they present some drawbacks
(availability of access, confusion with spam, etc.), this system has the ad -
vantage of the inclusion of images, automatic information registering and a
122 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

greater rapidity than other systems like the personal interview. Since there is
no interviewer, answers are more sincere and there is more time for reflec -
tion, or even for checking up on information. However, it might be necessary
to provide some type of contact system in case doubts should arise. On the
other hand, to encourage participation and the completion of the
questionnaire, the latter should not be overlong and should be accompani ed
by a letter explaining the aims of the study. It might even be necessary to
make prior telephone calls to make the subject more relevant to the inter -
viewees, raise their interest and get them to answer the questionnaire. Unlike
other self-administered surveys, the use of web forms makes it difficult for
the respondent to read the complete questionnaire before answering, hence
the final questions do not condition the rest of the answers (Schonlau,
Fricker and Elliot, 2001). In the abovementioned work of Huang et al.
(2006), they opted to use the Web to distribute a form amongst 921 editors
and journalists selected for their sample. Bressers (2006), on the other hand,
opted for the telephone as the medium for carrying out his survey. In both
cases, electronic mail had previously been used to arouse the interest of the
informants and encourage their participation.

5. A PARTICULAR CASE: ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION

FLOWS IN NEWS AGENCIES

Scenarios of media convergence generally tend towards two main

variants. The first is centred on concern with the transposition of a set of
procedures to a new setting, in this case the digital one. Pre-digital media
forms also manage to survive in the binary field, through strategies of trans -
posing their formats, contents and acce ss mechanisms to the information and
communication technologies (ICTs). This, for example, is the position of
researchers like Fidler (1997), Bolter and Grusin (2000) and Boczkowski
(2004). The second variant takes account of the broader distribution possi -
bilities involved in the digital code, which permit the coexistence of different
formats (text, sound, video, photographs, infographics, etc.) and, hypotheti -
cally at least, make it possible to combine narrative strategies and symbolic
production in more complex and mutually complementary forms (Manovich,
2001; Salaverría, 2005).
Convergence holds a strong connotation of the fusion and interweaving
of formats of information circulation, and the mobile phone is possibly the
most prototypical model of this phenomenon (Lemos, 2007), receiving
traffic in different codes, combining mobility and miniaturisation. In parallel,
the same perspective points towards the fusion of discursive possibilities
amongst visual, textual and sonorous elements, creating possibili ties and
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 123

problems of adapting the message in complex contexts of content organisa -

tion and presentation.
Without belittling the importance of the results of the convergence phe -
nomenon in variables of format, devices and modes of discourse engendered
by the ICTs, we believe that the debate can be widened to include a clearer
perception of convergence in other contexts of production of journalistic
content. Put briefly, this is a question of asking how convergence also leads
to actions that restructure the practices, dynamics and organisation of activi -
ties in the establishment of content and information flows in the field of the
mass media.

5.1. Demarcation between Convergence and News Flow

Leaving the exclusively technological sphere and moving the debate

onto the field of journalism, there are difficulties of a conjunctural and
structural order involved in the tasks of demarcating the concept of conver -
gence when applied to the production and circulation of contents (Mielnic -
zuk, 2003). The conjunctural constraints relate, above all, to semantic varia -
tion (the term is a highly polysemic one and varies according to the context
and field of knowledge where it is applied), and to the concept’s capacity for
mutation, to the extent that there is a division in the technological and social
scenario. In this respect, different aspects are being added, adhering to the
concept and making it more complex, so that what is understood by conver -
gence today is necessarily different from what the concept meant some years
ago.
The structural problems mainly reside in the impossibility of historically
situating where and when the phenomenon began and, also, in the difficulty
of adapting the phenomenon as a whole to specific models of content pro -
duction and flow. Put differently , convergence has different origins and for -
mats in, for example, journalism, news agencies, the music industry, the
cinema, etc.
It is recognised that the notion of convergence is not a totally new phe-
nomenon and that it is linked to the historical proce ss. Journalism – and its
dynamic of content flow – cannot be considered as a completely autonomous
nucleus for the generation of content and social dynamic. It is constituted as
a specific sphere that requires specific knowledge but, like all dynamics of
symbolic production in complex societies, it is situated in chains of interde -
pendence, interacting with infrastructural bases and with demands, or
pressures, from the social field, with which it interacts directly (Livingstone
and Lievrouw, 2003).
In the classic conceptions of information theory, the idea of flow refers
to the quantity of information that flows between variables of origin and
124 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

destination, in the execution of a process, in such a way as to determine the

necessary capacity of resources and ch annels involved for transmitting the
information (Shannon, 1948: 49). The nuance that must be introduced in this
case is that the flow is fixed within a mathematical perspective, which in -
volves aspects of logarithmic analysis, probability and degree of ch aos in
order to measure the information present in a system.
Within a communicational perspective, the concept of information flow
refers to the proportions of quantity and quality of information established
between agents, which can be organisations, coun tries, media groups, etc.
Such a definition orientated research (especially in the post -war period) that,
through quantitative and qualitative observation, detected that information
flow occurred intensely in a direction established between the developed
and undeveloped countries (UNESCO, 1980: 45-46; Varis, 1994).
In the dynamics of journalism on the Web, parallel flows are created that
are synergic to the processes and practices of journalism (blogs, photologs,
contributions by citizens to traditional ne wspapers). This does not annul the
traditional spaces and channels of collecting, treatment and circulation of
news in a primary sense. What emerges is an additional stratum of informa -
tion, which widens and complements the productive activ ity of newspapers
(Smith, 1980: 79).
The potential advances on the global scale, which are permitting an ex -
pansion of the horizon of circulation and flow of journalistic content, form
part of a historical trajectory that is obviously not restricted to the
appearance of Internet, however much the latter might have permitted a
quantitative and qualitative increase in content flow. On the other hand,
during the 1980s and 1990s, convergence was a phenomenon that achieved a
potential of extreme synergy in integrating the media industry and its
products, as well as the corporations and the processes of content flow.
The effects of those transformations that occurred in the 1980s and
1990s have been nearly always considered in an isolated way:
a) Convergence approached as a process of integration of coordinated
tasks to establish and widen the chains of information and news
flow;
b) Convergence considered as a juxtaposition and combination
amongst mass media, languages and formats, that is, a product, a
symbolic form;
c) Convergence as a fusion and integration amongst companies and
corporations.
Besides this triple perspective of the implications of the concept of con -
vergence, we believe that intersections with other spheres should be indi -
cated, although in a more general way. These inclu de: adjustments in the
profile of access and availability with respect to other symbolic forms of
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 125

content (television, printed press, radio, etc.); the interaction with infra -
structural aspects (data networks, telecommunications, etc.); the divisions of
historical aspects (social consolidation of the newspaper form on the social
horizon); and, obviously, the configuration of new symbolic forms of jour -
nalistic activity (blogs, newspapers on the Web, etc.).
The relational horizon existing between content flo ws and the concept of
convergence must necessarily supersede lineal perspectives of understanding
the communication process, such as the now outmoded proposals contained
in the work of theoreticians like Lasswell (1978), Shannon (1949), and more
unilateral perspectives like that of the hypodermic needle theory. This is a
question of superseding theoretical options that attribute excessive impor -
tance to the emitter, or, specifically in the case of journalism, to the
journalistic organisations in establishin g news flows.
The current complex configuration of journalism, based on digital tech -
nological systems, has its own need of articulation with the Web as a whole
and the logics of news circulation. On the horizon of the change between
those systems, there are conciliatory dynamics acting between the circulation
flows of journalistic content and technological, economic and cultural reality
itself, the latter understood as a set of subsystems present in the problem of
those flows.
In the methodological sphere, the task is to propose a model, articulated
in a multiple and interdependent way, in which the processes of symbolic
production related to digital journalism can be understood on the basis of
combining diversified factors.

5.2. Analytical Proposal

In a way that is analogous to what is happening in journalism, the phe -

nomenon of convergence is also creating a division in other sectors of con -
temporary symbolic production. The editorial logics of newspapers can es -
tablish a news flow that possesses similaritie s with the logics operating in
other fields, such as the music industry and the cinema, which are also being
reconfigured by the phenomenon of convergence.
Restricting the discussion more specifically to the case of journalism,
some central contemporary characteristics of the problem of the convergence
scenario must be emphasised. In spite of digital technologies freeing the pole
of content emission (Lemos, 2002) and permitting relatively easy access to
journalistic content generation in a post -massive form , from the viewpoint of
the professional market there are still restrictions of legitimation through the
formats established around normal journalistic practice.
In this respect, the complexity of the picture is provided by the institu -
tional weight of the newspaper, or journalistic organ, in consolidating the
126 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

public image of news production (Rodrigo Alsina, 1996), as something that

demands the recognition of a set of values required by events if they are to
become news. To this is joined the existence of a specific professional, the
journalist, who possesses a set of technical and cognitive skills and is capa -
ble of providing suitable treatment to that ensemble of information and of
synchronising his work logic according to the requirements not only of the
institutional role he occupies, but also of the peculiarities of the current tech -
nological factors, events and contents with which he is dealing.
In a certain way, the collection of innovative evidence of content flow,
processes of production management and format innovation, points towards
a scenario located in an age of microcomputers and digital networks.
However, the validity of some principles present in digital convergence has
well-consolidated historical features, which, in a perspective of dialecti cal
synthesis between journalistic practices and communication technologies,
points towards certain tendencies of continuity and potentials (Palacios,
2002, 2003).
The first of these features, multiplatform content, or the linkage of con -
tent to several formats, is assimilated in the models of convergence as a ca -
pacity given by the existence of digital devices capable of dealing with every
type of code. The history of news agencies shows that that possibility has
been established for a long time (Boyd -Barret, 1998; Read, 1992), by an
adaptation of the agencies’ model of work to the diversity of the market of
customers and newspapers demanding their services. The possibility of a
single message being distributed for different devices and symbolic forms is
not an exclusive predicate of the digital age and, much less, an exclusive
attribute of convergence.
Another recurrent point in conceptions of convergence refers to the
possibility of multiple access, production and circulation in a decentralised
way. Once again, in the case of news agencies, we find that decentralisation
of the process of content production is one of their basic characteristics. In
this case, there is a separation, or physical discontinuity, of the procedures of
symbolic construction, which are reorganised and coordinated through
connections by communication networks.
Another two elements also present in analyses of media convergence,
instantaneity and personalisation, as characteristics inherited from other me -
dia, are also found in the his torical trajectory of the news agencies, through
practices relating to operational velocity and the formatting of services for
numerous clients and the production of “information” packets directed at
specific segments of the clientele they serve.
Omitting these more specific aspects, now that we have considered the
functioning of the agencies’ internal work models, it is easy to detect the
close interrelation between these organisations and the technological infra -
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 127

structures. Observing the interaction between the dynamic of the agencies

and the historical development of online technological alternatives, we can
perceive an interrelation between the two spheres (Silva Jr., 2006):
a) From the start of their history, the agencies emerged as developers
of network communication models (Silva Jr., 2006);
b) They created sufficiently stable and voluminous flows, permitting
the maintenance of the network systems;
c) They rapidly adapted to developments, creating alternatives that
boosted their activities according to the avai lable infrastructural
characteristics;
d) They were pioneers in perceiving possibilities for implementing
differ entiated services integrated in the essence of network opera-
tion: velocity, omnipresence and interactivity.
The network of data circulation is the backbone for the existence of the
operations of the news agencies. Without such data the business model and
the stability of the system would annul the possibilities of operation. An
agency only makes sense as a network; the agency is a network. It is based
on the combination of data circulation with the specific dynamics of the
agency’s nature. That shows that from both the historical and the organisa -
tional points of view the agencies anticipate aspects that will be present in
the scenario of convergence and, consequently, they will influence the es -
tablishment and management of news flows.
Hence, to speak of content flows in news circulation is to speak of the
configuration of structures that make such traffic viable, whether in agencies
or in newspapers. All of the functions that journalists, companies and de -
vices perform are conditioned by that greater setting, permeated by digitali -
sation. It is no longer possible to speak of a continuous line of production,
since the sequence of treatment and circu lation of the journalist’s informa -
tion is no longer a continuous one. In place of the classic model of a se -
quence of consecutive stages (guideline, checking, documentation, consoli -
dation, editing, production, distribution and consumption of contents), w e
have a process in which these categories remain, but they can be considered
as a permanent circumstantial game, in which the categories mutually
influence and condition each other.
This is a situation in which the velocity of development of the devices,
allied to the pressure of the capital involved, imprints differentiated logics on
the very understanding of news flow: decentralisation, fragmentation of the
work process, constitution of each micro-unit as a micro -universe of content
production, treatment and circulation.
A possible methodological perspective for the case of newspaper con -
tents is thus to establish analytical parameters based on a scenario where the
processes engendered are seen in the light of the existence of a chain of
128 ONLINE JOURNALISM: RESEARCH METHODS

flows where the digital networks operate effectively, acting on the organisa -
tional basis of the journalistic companies and on the way new relations of
content production, treatment and consumption are articulated. The process
of news flow cannot be analysed in a lineal wa y, but instead as something
that always connects, recovers, continues and feeds back into the chain of
characteristics involved in the system as a whole.
Taking as a starting point an analysis of the relations present in the mu -
sic industry (Prestes Filho, 2002), we can construct a similar model about the
interrelations of the dynamics present in the processes and systems of jour -
nalistic content flow. Obviously, we are aware that there are differences and
its application is based on the understanding that each sphere of cultural
production possesses its own particularities. However, we understand that
both are deeply conditioned by the dynamics of convergence.
Thus, in a preliminary and hypothetical way, we can make a graphic
representation of the processes of convergence of news flows.

Figure 1

The links amongst the most general dynamics of the field of journalism
(the collection, treatment, circulation and consumption of content) are highly
sensitive to undergoing arrangements and readjustments that n ot only affect
the general dynamic of journalism, but also the extensive symbolic forms
with which it has to deal. Besides, we can perceive that factors comprising
the field can adopt numerous positions. This is the case of Internet, which is
not restricted to an isolated dynamic, but can be present in and traversed by
different dynamics of the general system of convergence.
The system of analysis proposed reveals the complexity of the picture of
convergence applied to journalism and also proposes changeabl e roles, in-
cluding that of the news consumer, who becomes much more active in this
MEDIA CONVERGENCE 129

process. He is no longer merely a receiver of news, but directs the

channelling of new dynamics and arrangements of content circulation and
production. In this respect, it becomes clear that in a complex process of
convergence news flows are not unilateral, nor are they exhausted in reading.
There are counter-flows that, in a certain way, have a feedback effect on the
public agenda, making the news offer horizon more complex (McCombs,
2003). The flow is cyclical.
News consumption ceases to be represented as a static stage, situated at
the end of the process. Equally, collection, treatment and circulation cease to
occupy fixed positions. They are complex and variable links in the model of
flow, present throughout the whole news process. There is a tendency for the
roles of producer and reader to draw closer together, for there to be a sharing
out, or systemic cooperation between their functions. This obviously in -
volves a restructuring of the profession and the qualifications involved, as
well as a reformulation of the reader for more participatory practices.