Mass Media Convergence Through the Eyes of Russian Journalists

                Mass Media Convergence
                Through the Eyes of Russian Journalists





            World of Media 2011. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies
            Под общей редакцией: E. Vartanova. M.: Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2011, pp. 96-113


        Yekaterina A. Baranova

Post Graduate Student at the Chair of Media Theory and Economics, the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, kat_journ@front.ru

        Abstract

In the summer of 2009, a survey was held among 20 respondents, mostly editors of online versions of business, general interest, social and political and specialized newspapers. The journalists were from 17 Russian publishing houses and RIA Novosti news agency. The results of the survey presented in this article show the way mass media convergence is developing in Russia.

Key words: process of mass media convergence, mass media integration, multimedia, web department.



        Methodology

       In conducting the survey, the method of a semi-formalized interview was applied. “A semi-formalized interview appeals to a respondent’s natural flow of thought encouraging him to speak without restraints on the subject suggested”¹. The questions were formulated in a general way in order to spark off nontrivial responses without limiting respondents to a particular area of searching for an answer.

       Analyzing the data obtained through the interviews we used the coding method bringing the unprocessed data into conceptual categories and framing themes like “Understanding terms” or “Web department” later used in the analysis. Using the method of axial coding, we “focused on the data themselves and attributed code values to the themes”². For example, studying the video content evolution on Russian newspapers’ websites we divided the subject of research into the following parts: the emergence of video content on the websites of Russian newspapers; video content production; the forms in which video is presented; inclusion of advertising into videos.

       We also focused our attention on what all the examples under consideration had in common. We concluded that almost all the editions at hand implement, to this or that extent, the main idea of convergence: collective and cross-departmental team-based newswork and content distribution across multiple channels.

        Understanding terms

       Today the concepts of “mass media convergence” and the related concepts of “multimedia” and “mass media integration” are much talked about among journalists. Theorists are still unable to work out a consistent definition of the term “convergence” equating it with the