by Chie Uraki #009571469
According to Quinn and Filak, convergence is about doing journalism and telling stories using appropriate media. Convergence increases an organization’s chance of reaching the largest number of eyeball. Since convergence has one or more media sources, it allows reporters to expand the way they tell stories, and they can get more information to more people. There are some kinds of convergence which is convergence of technology, convergence of industry and convergence of news content. An example of “convergence of technology” is the cell phone. Cell phone used to just make and receive calls, but after convergence, it can be used as a music player, game player, TV, digital camera, and internet applications. The cell phone has become an all in one entertainment and media device. I use I phone and I feel it is more useful than my pc or other devices.
Multimedia journalism is just one dimension of convergence. While convergence has some dimensions, multimedia journalism is the practice of gathering news and reporting it across multiple platforms.
This is a great example of multimedia journalism from LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teachers-boy-ss,0,3436771.htmlstory
The audio slideshow by Liz O. Baylen allows her to tell a story using multiple mediums in order to impact the readers and allow them to see a story from different angles. There is also a link that goes to a long print article of the story which is for readers who want to read a more detailed story. Print is a useful tactic for telling a story, but this slideshows can show emotions which attract the readers. Also, there are her email address and a section where readers can comment on the story and interact with her.