Convergence, Media Ownership and Consumer Participation

Convergence is an increasingly common term in debates about New Media. However,  convergence does not imply a replacement of old media by new media, contrary to what many people believe. Rather,  it is a collaboration and a combination of platforms, new forms of content and the active role of the consumer.

“Convergence involves both a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is consumed” (Jenkins, 2008, p16).  It is a process that is driven by both corporate companies and consumers. On the one hand, media companies are learning to control the flow of content in order to reach the largest audience and to increase their profit.  On the other hand, consumers are also exercising  increasing control over content and interaction with other consumers.  However, the main question to be asked is whether the phenomenon of convergence is beneficial for society or not.

Therefore, the consequences of media ownership are of particular concern, especially since only a limited number of big media companies seem to dominate the whole media and entertainment industry. An example of such a company is Warner Bros., which has shifted attention away from a singular focus on films to a focus on the entertainment industry in general, producing popular music, computer games, web sites, toys and books (Jenkins, 2008, p16). As a result, this can contribute to a decline in the variety of offers. Then again, big media corporations can also positively contribute to more competence of the producers and the quality of products.

Moreover, the term convergence also implies a cultural shift, as consumers are playing an increasingly active role in the creation of content. To describe this shift, Henry Jenkins uses the term participatory culture (Jenkins, 2008, p3).  However, Jenkins also acknowledges that in this participatory culture, not all individuals are equal in their ability to participate. He states that “corporations (…) still exert greater power than any individual consumer or even the aggregate of consumers. And some consumers have greater abilities to participate in this emerging culture than others.” (Jenkins, 2008, p3). The main problem remains both an unequal access to new technologies, as well as the lack of skills, which results in exclusion of certain groups of people in this so-called participatory culture.



Bibliography
Jenkins, H., 2008. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide Revised., NYU Press.