• by adam.m , Michael Deibert , July 6, 2005

The term "media convergence" typically connotes the merger of offline and online media, but changes in the media marketplace are also facilitating partnerships between traditional print and electronic media outlets. In what may be the first study of its kind, researchers at Indiana's Ball State University have found that half of television news operations in the United States already are partnered with a print publication--typically a local newspaper in the station's market.

The June study, which contacted news directors at 732 stations (of whom 231 responded) found that 114 news directors report having partnerships. The findings reinforce a trend noted in Ball State's November 2004 survey, which found that of 372 newspapers editors, 108 (30 percent) were involved in news-gathering relationships with television stations.

Sixty-nine percent of the respondents said that at least once a month they feel that working with a print partner makes their broadcasts stronger, while 54.1 percent said that at least once a week they encouraged viewers to read enterprise stories published in affiliated newspapers.

In other aspects, however, television and print media--although linked at some level--appear to be maintaining their independence, with only 14.9 percent of news directors saying they shared all stories with their print partner, and some 59.7 percent being very selective with their news information or never sharing at all.

Although some have worried that the coming together (or "convergence," in industry parlance), of print and broadcast news outlets will result in an ever-smaller group of people deciding which stories get to be considered news, the report's authors say that, as only 13% of newspapers and stations surveyed had the same owner, that fear is still a relatively remote one.

"What we've got here are two media outlets that are still very distinct voices, but are cooperating with one another in terms of news gathering," said Ball State University Assistant Professor of Journalism Lori Demo. "The way they decide to write or frame a story are still decisions being made in individual newsrooms."

"What we're seeing is that people are trying, but they are kind of stymied, and not sure of where to go from here," says Demo. "They're doing a lot of cross-promotion, but what the media outlets haven't figured out how to do yet is to bring together a news offering that is a little bit richer for the audience."