Technological innovation and convergent journalism Case study on the transformation process of Bavaria’s public broadcasting service

• Published in: Revista mediterránea de comunicación Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 33 - 44
• Main Authors: Meier, Klaus, Bracker, Isabel, Verhovnik, Melanie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de Alicante 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Alemania; Bavaria; Baviera; Convergencia en las redacciones periodísticas; Germany; Innovación en las redacciones periodísticas; Innovations in Newsrooms; Journalism and Technology; Newsroom Convergence; Newsroom Technology; Periodismo y tecnología; Tecnología y redacción periodística; Transformación servicios radiotelevisión pública; Transformation of Public Broadcasting Services
• ISSN: 1989-872X; 1989-872X
• DOI: 10.14198/MEDCOM2017.8.1.3

As a consequence of technological innovations and their social utilisation, media organisations and newsrooms are undergoing a fundamental transformation process. This article analyses the interrelations between technological innovations and the challenges of convergent journalism. Studies conducted on newsroom convergence to date set out from one-sided influences: They investigated the extent to which technical innovations determine the newsrooms, or whether journalistic structures and long-range trends are so strong as to largely obstruct the adoption of new technologies in journalism. Therefore technology — especially in studies carried out on newsroom convergence — is considered as an influencing factor on somehow resisting or non-resisting newsrooms. We broaden the scope of this investigation by considering that any such influence might not come exclusively from technology, but that impulses can come also from innovative newsrooms: technological gaps, wishes and obstacles are identified from the journalist's viewpoint and brought to the attention of the developers of newsroom technologies — on the basis of empirical research findings from a case study of Bavaria’s public broadcasting service, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR). With its 5.000 employees, BR is one of Germany's largest media organisations. It is undergoing a fundamental and long-term convergence process. A variety of gaps, problems and wishes came to light from 25 in-depth interviews with journalists working on innovative projects. For example, criticism is expressed of complicated, partly unknown or non-existent networking of cross-media production systems. There is a desire for the increased use of consumer devices like smartphones in professional news production. There exists a creative potential for innovative solutions, but these are not comprehensively evaluated. To date, there has been no systematic implementation of the findings of innovative media projects in everyday journalistic practice.