The Pros and Cons of Convergence

The convergence of media on the internet has led to an amazing informational age. News publishers are producing news 24/7 using online resources, which means more fast-paced responsibilities for copy editiors. In addition to an increase in output, copy editors will need more areas of specialization. The development of news online allows readers to search for the news that is pertinent to their interests, creating niches of focus and a need for detail-oriented editors. On a television news program, viewers are forced to watch the reports leading up to the story that they are interested in, whearas, online, viewers can search an archive of videos that relate to the news they want. More and more readers are utilizing the internet for their news needs. Future copy editors will need to focus on the instantaneous gratification that web surfers will want from their news companies, or else be washed away in the tide.

Research and Convergence

The advancement in technology can be both an advantage and disadvantage to the copy editor. Because of the Internet, copy editors have access to every available source in the world. They can research ideas, find people, and locations, and even search a public library online. The downside to this is some sources are not always accurate. Another beneficial tool for copy editors is Microsoft Office, which checks for spelling and grammatical errors. As helpful as Microsoft can be, it is not one hundred percent error proof.

Technology proves to be a powerful tool for the world to advance. Understanding that we now have the world in the palm of our hand is one thing, but we must understand that we are taking away fundamental creativity. What’s frightening is that the more technology evolves; jobs are in jeopardy of eventually being run by computers.

Research and Convergence - The Tech Affect

Bob Dylan once wrote,"For the times they are a-changin'."


Sure he is a musician, and I am a journalist (well studying to be one at-least!), but that phrase is the perfect description for what is going on in the world of journalism.


Journalism is at an interesting point in its existence. In my opinion, this time (and what happens in the next few years) will be studied as an important era in the evolution of media as we know. It will be just as important as the emergence of radio, tv, printing press, internet, etc. With the state of the global economy and the constant improvement/growth of the tech world, it is no secret that the old fashioned newspaper is dying out. In fact, it is not a matter of if, but rather when print will die out and move online completely. This online swing will have a direct effect on the world of journalism as we know it 


The people who will be affected the most, will be the copy editors. The journalists themselves will face less of an impact. Stories will always need to be written, people will always need to be interviewed, and topics will always need to be investigated. The writers will need to adjust with the varying forms of media such as twitter, foursquare, etc. However, copy editors look to be the ones that can get basically "screwed". 


The emergence of technology could eliminate the need for copy editors in the future. At the very least, it will minimize the need for a human copy editor. Computers, or technology, can and are programmed to recognize these mistakes and correct them. Plus, when you have humans doing work, there is always that natural possibility of human error. Humans make mistakes, there is no arguing that fact. Although one can argue that copy editors can use the technology to their advantage and help them in their work, the reality is how much are they really needed then? 

Convergence

Convergence is the beginning of the future in media. It is a reality no one in the journalism profession can deny or avoid. The career is no longer a one trick pony, it demands for multi-talented savvy people. Having the ability to take pictures, write stories, post blogs, perform radio shows, or any forms of the new media can give you the upper-hand on competition. The internet is now like a party where everyone is invited. In the past television, newspapers, and radio were all seperate but now, faster than ever, they are all melting into one exciting future.

This has also allowed professionals in the media more flexibility. No more length restrictions like in printed newspapers, the web allows unlimited room for articles and also an endless amount of outlets with hyperlinks to take you to similar topics. This gives viewers the opportunity to pick and choose what they will read and places to find more of it.

Convergence is the inevitability that will force us to break the old habits of the past and create new ways of sharing the news with the world.

Research and Convergence

I feel that with technology growing every day, copy editors have more advantages than ever before. They have so many sources at the tip of their hands that they are able to do pretty much anything. they have the ability to fact check with so many sources, the reporter would have to make sure they don't make anything up or plagiarize. Lastly, if they didn't understand a word or need to check a spelling error, there are plenty of online dictionaries online that could help.

Convergence- where is it taking the news?

Since the Internet began to pick up steam in the late 1990s, news gathering, production and dissemination began to change in ways unimaginable by older generations. The Net has been and will be, it seems indefinitely, a platform where all media - film, TV, radio, music, and print- converge.

Current discussion deliberates on how this value-added medium will affect media consumption and jobs. Creative Editing quotes Linda Grist Cunningham,"chair of an ASNE committee that conducted a survey of copy editors: As the literacy skills of even our better writers decline and as the demands of technology complicate our production schedules, editors will be forced to pay attention to the needs of copy editors if we are to improve our newspapers”(Bowles & Borden, 2011, p.5). 

What does this suggest? Hasn't technology facilitated tools to research, bookmark, organize content, share, fact check, cite, revise, correct, post, illustrate, design, present, expand, clarify, and the like. Or have the "apps" stunted our abilities? 

I am optimistic in our ability to maximize the reality and promise of convergence. After all, published content is still produced by hand, not generated by an avatar. What about you?


aSalas

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Technology and its affect on Convergence

In our modern society technology is everywhere as it has become apart of our everyday lives. And although it helps simplify our lives it also has replaced certain aspects of our lives as well. Now, we make weekend plans with our friends via facebook instead of talking it out and reading today's news online instead reading a hard copy newspaper.

With faster technology also comes consequences, and often in the realm of news and journalism these effects affect copy editors. New Technology affects copy writers in many ways as it most importantly makes their role more crucial in the newsroom than ever before. Although all computers in this day and age have spell check and some grammatical tools, computers can not replace a good pair of human eyes which can edit mistakes that most computers often skip over.

Technology also makes a copy editor's job harder as well. As social technologies such as facebook and twitter make our writing voices more informal, copy editors have to work extra hard to make sure these same in formalities don't translate over into the newsroom.

Although new technologies are comming at us left and right and replacing lots of things we once did, I don't think copy editors and the role they play won't be replaced.