Topic 3: Media Convergence and Blurring of Genres
Let’s Begin
In discussing the shared characteristics of the six information revolutions, Fang (1997) mentioned: “Each is based upon the invention of more than one tool of communication, such as papyrus and the phonetic alphabet, paper and printing, or television and satellites. Their convergences have had powerful effects” (p. xviii). We could therefore conclude that media convergence has been happening since the ancient times. As digital technology emerges, conventional boundaries among different media continues to blur.
Read
Read Chapter 10 – The Internet and the World Wide Web (pp. 231-261) of Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture (8th ed.) by Stanley Baran (2014).
Watch
Watch Media Convergence, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lcUKjGKiEw
Watch Media Convergence – Explained, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV6rp7RCZw8&t=104s
Think
Study questions:
- Do you think media convergence leads to the democratization of media?
- How does media convergence empower (or disempower) individuals?
- How does media convergence affect culture and society?