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Media convergence

Article · January 2010

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Media convergence
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Holliman, Richard (2010). Media convergence. In: Priest, Susanna ed. Encyclopaedia of Science and
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Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

Media convergence

In a technological sense, media convergence is all about integration and inter-

operability; the coming together of computing networks, information and

communication technologies, and digital forms of information that are inherently

adaptable, delivered via ‘intelligent’ platforms, applications and devices. The

processes that facilitate media convergence are shaped by, whilst also shaping, social

practices and cultural values; the ways that we produce and consume digital media to

communicate science, politics, sport, and so on. Where once people had opportunities

to collate and filter scientific information via various ‘traditional’ communication

channels, now digital technologies are also playing an important role.

From an end user perspective—those consuming and contributing—media

convergence involves digital technologies that encode and decode multiple streams of

(in this case) science content. This can involve (linked and aggregated) text, (galleries

of) still images, moving pictures, digital simulations, sounds, music, or any

combination thereof, to one or more devices and platforms of the end user’s choosing,

such as a mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). And these media can be

customized and consumed ‘automatically’ via feeds that match the users profile on the

device(s) of their choice; change your profile and you re-arrange the content to be

downloaded, and/or re-order the aggregated content that you have received.

This entry will map some of the current (2009) landscape for media convergence with

a particular focus on what it means for communicating the sciences. It has been

produced with two notes of caution that are worth bearing in mind as you study what

follows. First, the choice of examples illustrates the realized potential of some digital

media for the sciences, but also the continuing potential. These selections have
Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

necessarily been small in number, and they are described here via a non-converged

media, a printed book. Second, what follows is an attempt to map what is a rapidly

developing landscape, technologically, socially, economically, politically, legally and

culturally. No entry that discusses media convergence could ever claim to be future

proof, but I hope to have provided a useful introduction for those approaching these

issues for the first time.

In the spirit of the information age it is for the reader to use their scholarly skills to

seek out further examples of media convergence in action, perhaps applying what

follows to their scholarly background (be that arts, humanities, social science, or the

natural sciences), or area of practical application (as a practising scientist, media

professional, student of science communication, interested citizen, and so on).

Representing the sciences via popular media

How might a newspaper or magazine feature a scientific story? How might a

scientific issue be broadcast on television or radio? These used to be questions that

had, relatively speaking at least, simple answers. Science in newspapers, for example,

involved a printed copy that you had delivered or bought from a newsstand. These

printed copies had pretty standardised formats with news, comment, leading articles,

features, letters, cartoons, obituaries, etc. And science news had to compete with

politics, economics, sport, and so on, for column inches in these printed media; so far,

so straightforward.

With the introduction of digital technologies and media convergence much, but not

all, of this has changed. Scientific issues still feature in printed newspapers, and

although they still have to compete for column inches, they also now compete for

time and space in multi-platform newsrooms in the converged, 24/7, rolling news
Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

media landscape. Many online editions of newspapers now routinely produce text and

photos, as they always have, but with additional content in the form of audio, photo

galleries, moving images, computer simulations and graphics, online quizzes and

glossaries, links to other selected and recommended websites, and so on. Where we

once read a newspaper and turned the pages, we can now ‘select and click’, but we

can also watch, listen, subscribe to digests, and even contribute, e.g. by commenting

on comment pieces, and have selected content routinely downloaded directly to the

device of our choosing. It is hardly surprising then that science communication

researchers are talking not of consumers, but of users of sciences in media. Similarly,

conceptions of what it means to be a media professional are being rethought to

consider the additional skills that may be required to produce multiple forms of digital

science content.

Similarly there are now greater opportunities to listen to a wide range of genres on

‘digital radio’ (more accurately called ‘multi-platform audio’) – for example, through

networked desktop computers, digital television, digital radio, as podcasts that you

subscribe to or download to a device of your choice. And at least some of these

streams will be multiple, with the option of additional online content; it is now

possible to ‘listen to’, ‘read’ and ‘watch’ radio at the same time. You may even

choose to produce your own podcast about a scientific subject, following in the well-

trodden footsteps of many amateur radio enthusiasts, and contribute in real-time to

radio via blogs, text messaging and phone-ins.

Meanwhile, digital television has introduced additional digital only channels that are

‘broadcast’ to television sets, and via the web, whilst ‘watch again’ facilities allow

viewers to move beyond the limitations of channel schedules. As Bennett notes,

perhaps the most interesting development with digital television is the ability to call-
Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

up additional on-demand content. Although currently (2009) limited in scope such

developments have the potential to change how we watch science on television.

Media convergence and what it means for the sciences

The term ‘media for the sciences’ has always been plural—since ancient times

scientific information has been spoken, drawn and written. The sciences would not

exist without media. As Montgomery has noted, it is no coincidence that when

scientific information became more available via translations, printed and circulated

without the need for scribes, what we now call ‘modern science’ began to flourish.

(Of course, other factors were also important in the development of modern science.)

More recently, the introduction of digital technologies has seen a proliferation in the

number of media for science. So what has changed?

In some respects convergence involves media forms that are not that different from

their non-converged equivalents: devices that host them often provide fairly standard

computing facilities, such as the ability to search for (and within) digitally stored

content on a given device and/or network. Convergence means that the same digital

content can now be stored, retrieved, filtered, shared and aggregated via multiple

devices and applications. It can also be rendered in multiple forms, e.g. the same text

can be printed, rendered as a series of linked web pages, and ‘screen-read’ spoken

word. And all this at the click of a mouse. Where previously you may have needed

multiple devices to communicate science, now you may be able to survive with one,

or at least far fewer than before, and you can be ‘on the move’ whilst using a wireless

enabled device, or static using a fairly standard networked desktop computer.

These developments require technological solutions that make the same content

available in multiple forms, although much of the technology remains ‘black-boxed’

Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

to the end user. However, users do need to adapt the ways they communicate science,

e.g. requiring some level of information literacy (and the ability to re-skill), and a

desire to purchase the devices that facilitate media convergence. Indeed, the careful

promotion and cultural festishization of certain devices are one of the reasons why

media convergence has become popular, ensuring a continuing market for upgrades to

the latest model. This economic reality is reinforced through social practices and

developing cultural norms. For example, it is almost without countenance in the

information age to be uncontactable for any length of time; without sufficient

numbers of online ‘friends’ and to know their location and what they are doing;

unable to know one’s precise location and how to get to your next one; out of the loop

in terms of the latest developments in the news that you value (global, national,

playground, or otherwise); or to lack the ability to digitally photograph and distribute

that image at a moment’s notice. And all this can be done via the same networked

device.

Converging media, changing practices

It follows that the ways in which many media professionals, scientists, other

stakeholders and citizens produce, consume, share, interact with, and create portrayals

of the sciences via digital media is evolving. For example, media that facilitate

convergence are changing the ways that at least some scientists conduct and

communicate their science with their peers, and how this scientific information is

distributed and shared within the public sphere. Such developments require networks

that can be ‘public’, such as the internet, or ‘private’, including intranets, SMS, file

transfer sites, and other password protected websites. As a result, scientists can now

collect, analyse and output data using the same device, or via a series of devices that

are coordinated by a team of scientists working in different locations, and also whilst
Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

working remotely ‘in the field’. Alternatively, they can work at a distance from the

point of data collection, accessing, sharing and analyzing data collected from

remotely located sensors, telescopes, and so on. Meanwhile, Cozzini has discussed the

importance of grid technology for the sciences, which facilitates distributed

networked computing. In essence, this involves the linking of secure computing

infrastructure, experimental facilities, and data storage among two or more institutions

to address complex scientific challenges. Cozzini notes that developments such as

these are improving the chances of solving complex problems in high-energy physics,

astronomy, meteorology and computational biology.

Similarly, media and publishing industries are adapting to, as well as promoting,

consumption via new social practices that extend market reach beyond traditional

mass audiences bounded by national borders. These new markets include consumers

that can be geographically distributed, downloading or streaming (and potentially

making contributions to) representations of science from a number of countries.

Crucially for the converged business model, however, is the fact that at least some of

these consumers are also willing to consume (and pay for) lots of converged

information about a particular area of scientific investigation. Although they may be

smaller in their absolute numbers, these consumers are targeted via promotional

strategies that facilitate marketing synergies via branded nests of products: buy the

science documentary once it has been aired on television and receive additional

content, automatic updates to the device and platform of your choice, and so on;

alternatively, receive some of the content for free as a ‘loss leader’, but pay for

additional products.

Media convergence, in this instance, has the potential to deliver customized packages

of scientific knowledge to those with and without formal qualifications in the

Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

sciences, and potentially all from the comfort of an armchair, or makeshift laboratory

in the garage. Over time this may further extend ideas about who counts as a

‘scientific expert’ to include those without formal qualifications in a scientific subject.

Producing and consuming science via digital media

The changes in how science is produced for, and consumed via, digital media have

been profound for ‘early adopters’, a term that includes many science publishers;

some scientific institutions and scientists; almost all media industry companies and

corporations, and the professionals working for them; and also other citizen

consumers. These changes will continue to be felt as ‘late adopter’ citizens are forced

to embrace the digital switchover in broadcast (television and radio) media. But, as

this encyclopedia illustrates, print media, for the foreseeable future at least, will still

be consumed by physically turning the pages.

As Chalmers notes, some scientists (and media professionals and citizens for that

matter) will be more willing to embrace these changes than others, and we should not

overlook the challenges that shifts towards digital technologies can bring. Concepts

such as the ‘digital divide’, and those who are ‘information rich’ or ‘information poor’

illustrate that lack of access to information, scientific or otherwise, can reinforce pre-

existing structural inequalities as easily as it can create new ones. Information literacy

skills, so necessary for navigating what Borgman has described as the data deluge,

also come more easily to some than others. It is within this context that some

understanding of media convergence is of fundamental importance to those wishing to

study science communication in the information age.

Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

Conclusion

The introduction of digital technologies, and their ability to facilitate convergence,

means that we have more media and greater choice in how science communication is

produced and consumed. This results in several challenges for science communication

scholars. How do we make sense of the increased number of channels that filter and

collate scientific information? Can we deliver suitable theories that take account of

the ever shifting processes of media convergence for science where neologisms and

evolving social practices abound? Can we easily delineate media industries, where

taxonomy via form used to make sense? Should we increasingly rely on distinctions

between commercial and public service media, and elite and popular brands or titles?

Meanwhile science communication researchers continue to search for reliable and

valid ways of collecting data from what are often transitory and ephemeral forms. It is

clear that science communication has changed because of media convergence. The

challenge for science communication scholars is to continue to develop the skills to

stay ahead of the curve.

Richard Holliman

The Open University, UK

See also online media

Further readings

Bennett, J. (2009). From flow to user flows: understanding ‘good science’

programming in the UK digital television landscape. In Holliman, R.,

Whitelegg, E., Scanlon, E., Smidt, S. and Thomas, J. (Eds.) Investigating

science communication in the information age: Implications for public

Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

engagement and popular media (pp. 183-204). Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

In this chapter the author makes a critical examination of science programming on

UK television, focusing on examples of ‘un-natural history’, and relating his

arguments to current discussions in the UK about the shifting role of public service

broadcasting in the emerging digital television landscape.

Borgman, C. (2007). Scholarship in the digital age. Information, infrastructure and

the internet. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Castells, M. (2001). The internet galaxy: Reflections on the internet, business and

society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chalmers, M. (2009). Communicating physics in the information age. In Holliman,

R., Thomas, J., Smidt, S., Scanlon, E. and Whitelegg, E. (Eds.) Practising

science communication in the information age: Theorising professional

practices (pp. 67-80). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

In this chapter the author looks at the ways contemporary communication issues are

being managed within the physics community. He examines web 2.0 technologies and

finds some physicists to be more reluctant adopters of them than many non-scientists.

Cozzini, S. (2008). Grid computing and e-science: a view from inside. Journal of

Science Communication, 7(2), pp. 1-4.

Eysenbach, G. (2008). Medicine 2.0: Social networking, collaboration, participation,

apomediation, and openness. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 10(3),

e22, pp. 1-9.

Montgomery, S. (2009). Science and the online world: realities and issues for

discussion. In Holliman, R., Thomas, J., Smidt, S., Scanlon, E. and Whitelegg,
 Holliman, R. (2010). Media convergence, in Priest, S. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology Communication. Newbury
Park, CA, Sage.

E. (Eds.) Practising science communication in the information age:

Theorising professional practices (pp. 83-97). Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

In this chapter the author gives a perspective on the communication of science

stretching from the distant past to the near future. Rather than assuming that the

Internet is necessarily a force for good, Montgomery concludes that digital

technologies need to be considered in terms of existing social relations and

dependencies.

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