New media evolve from old media, and such developments shape our societies and social structure. The printing press was first set up by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440 signalling the beginning of print newspapers, this allowed news to be distributed in a written format for the first time. However, the 21st Century marks vast technological developments, making news widely accessible in new media forms, such as: television broadcastings, internet, social networking sites and mobile phones.
The Guardian is a well established newspaper, which was first published in 1821. I have chosen The Guardian as my converged text because it demonstrates how print has expanded into new media platforms; it illustrates how a text can be written once, but published everywhere. This supports Lister’s definition of convergence as he believes we are one of the reasons for convergence, as it is us who migrate across these platforms. The Guardian was at its peak during 1987, with an average circulation of 494,000. By 2011, the circulation had dropped by more than half, with an average of 230,541, proving that the popularity of print declined. News stories by The Guardian are available in many different ways- the main source is their website online, which contains articles and photography similarly to a paper. However, additional multimedia features are exclusive to their website, such as videos, which add interaction and visual appeal. The audio and podcasts feature allows consumers to select what they listen to based on their own interests, and the production of Guardian Films is also aired online. This is a new dimension of coverage which no other newspaper has done, it was set up to extend internationally and showcase investigative journalism through film and video. Their website is the core route to all online media as it advertises the other dynamic avenues of getting news. The ‘news direct to you’ section at the bottom of the page highlights the digital benefits of downloading The Guardian App on to a mobile phone, iPad or Kindle; all of which offer a portable service. Twitter was established in 2006, this social networking site attracts organisations and people of all ages. It keeps followers informed by broadcasting breaking news and headlines as it happens. It has the fastest news turnover due to user generated content and through their hash tagging system conversations can be grouped. Twitter also publishes the front page of tomorrow’s paper, which is an additional benefit.
The Guardian is printed in a Berliner format; which is taller than a tabloid, but shorter than a broadsheet. The size of the paper is a notable factor as the Berliner format needs to be folded out, making it awkward to hold and harder to file through. In contrast, the app is far more condensed, and articles are arranged in a thumbnail format, allowing consumers to choose a story that appeal to them.
“The traditional newsprint business is one that will struggle to grow from where it is and I will argue that there will be fewer newspapers in the future than there are today”James Murdoch explains how media in a digital environment allows journalists to produce content by the consumption of others, once it’s published online in one place, it can then be republished in another place. A prime example of this is twitter, as users generate content that can be re-tweeted and shared between people. Murdoch describes this figuratively as a “genie out of a bottle”, essentially saying that once it’s published online publicly, users can consume it, contribute and then distribute it around.
The readership of The Guardian are those in the ABC1 demographic bracket, 53% of readers are male and 47% are female. These statistics show that the paper is not gender-bias. Every individual is categorised and labelled based on social demographics such as age and income. Media corporations believe they can predict our interests and make presumptions about our tastes based on these demographics. However, social media change allows us to avoid these titles, as the online community can connect with each other freely based on interests. Media organisations can then determine what is a successfully driving the market, by monitoring users click history. The Guardian was previously classed as a university paper appealing to educated students and adults. The greatest percentage of readers is 15-24 year olds, which compares to the average UK adult reader being over the age of 65. The advantage of technology is that news can be accessed for free, this cuts company costs as well as reach out to a younger audience who are frequently connected to electronic sources. On the other hand, this could be a disadvantage for the older cliental as they may not be knowledgeable with the digital media. A study in 2008, proved this, as 87% of the general public that regularly went online to access news were between 18-49 years old, and those over the age of 50 were a small minority of 27%. News online is viral because people spread it over social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter which are common amongst a younger generation. Presently, the majority of online users are youthful, but content will mature as they get older, and gradually the proportion of people online will be both old and young people. Upcoming generations will be brought up into society with technology, and when the young techno-savvy generation of today grow older, they will already be knowledgeable within the digital environment. The media world is extremely competitive; newspapers want to have quality content and be the best selling paper on the market. The free market model theory, whereby consumers can choose what they like to buy and sell without government control enforces need for a competitive strategy. Papers want consumers to purchase their paper over another, therefore aim to target and monitor market forces, to provide a service that appeals to their audience, and outranks their competitors. This is the focal reason why brands such as The Guardian expand into versatile avenues within multimedia in order to keep up to date with the competitive demands of the media market.
Technological determinism suggests that technology is the ‘prime mover’ in shaping our social and culture factors within society. Technological developments has enhanced the company’s brand, and made it widely recognisable. Branding is extremely important in the media society; it is how the company becomes established innovatively against its other competitors. Branding is more than just a logo, the company’s values and personal identity builds the brands reputation; design, advertising and marketing all play important roles in this. News is everywhere, when it comes to our attention the company is instantaneously known because of symbolism and branding which make audiences identify it. The Guardian’s symbol is a ‘g’, when it is visible, peoples mind immediately associate it with the paper. The Guardian is a trusted brand which has built up its reputation through its identity and values, the website outlines the brand as “taking a fresh approach, we are modern, individual and sometime unconventional”; they commit to “quality journalism, photography and design” and “value confident, intelligent and investigative journalism”.
Advertising is the strongest factor in establishing ones brand; The Guardian has promoted their open journalism through the ‘Three little pigs’ advert which displays how this childhood tale would be covered in both print and online. It demonstrates the concept of ‘the whole picture’, and the convergence of the World Wide Web, iPads and Smartphone’s from print. The advert portrays the digital modern world, and how we are all closely involved in the spread of news.
Rupert Murdoch “predicts newspapers could die out in 10 years” this is because of the fundamental changes journalism has undergone. In today’s society, journalists engage with their readers because of the diverse and ever-growing online media interactions. Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, explains why open journalism is important. He describes how the development of journalism has changed drastically since the 19th and 20th Century, and how in today’s modern society, information is "parcelled up, moved around and shared”. Readers are no longer passive recipitants, they have become responsive and apart of journalism themselves; contributing towards giving a more accurate representation of the truth. Audiences play a more active role, through the popularity of twitter, blogging and passing on direct links, this is the central core of networking.
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