Kofi Ampeah Woode
WAYS OF TRANSFORMING AND INTEGRATING NEWSPAPER TO NEW MEDIA
Media convergence first lies in building a platform. Take for instance, the Bandao Urban Daily, it has transformed to New Media platforms such as newspaper, websites, client, Weibo, and WeChat. There are the Bandao Urban Daily, www.bandao.cn, Bandao APP, official Weibo of Bandao Urban Daily, and official WeChat of Bandao Urban Daily. It realizes content digitization and newspaper-network linkage, which is the “addition” of traditional media and new media.
Newspapers still have readers, for they can be read whiles flying, and in schools, as the Bandao Urban Daily is doing, in addition to its convergence; that is, transforming to new media while still publishing a newspaper. Bandao has an App that is informative and useful.
Li Fang – Deputy Editor-in-Chief of ‘People’s Daily’ Overseas Edition and famous essayist says, “Technology has given birth to culture, and we have once again reached a critical juncture. The transformation of the paper media is a major trend in the world. The paper media cannot be transformed to the new media platform, or it may be eliminated by the times. When the paper media is successfully transformed, it is reborn in fire. After the transformation, the next lesson will teach how to operate, how to master the secret of the traffic and how to get the traffic monetization ability.
Transformation is like turning a large ship, which must be accompanied by all staff. We cannot perform it on small scale. We must integrate the old and new ideas, modes and mechanisms of production and communication”.
ALL-MEDIA “CENTRAL KITCHEN” GATHERING & EDITING SYSTEM
“Central Kitchen” is the common name of the central gathering and editing system. This term which originated from the catering industry has been summed up by some scholars in the current media industry as “integration of the old and the new, one-time gathering, multiple generation, and multi-element release”. It is a product of conforming to the trend of the times and accelerating the construction of convergence media. It is more in line with the characteristics of contemporary news dissemination, and better meets the needs of users.
In an era when there is an explosion of information and a rise in the number of independent media outlets, people have a higher requirement for the quality and timeliness of information they receive.
There is the need to incubate professional individualized media, customize central distribution technology, speed up MA marketing, settle more financing capital and introduce favorable policies. The ‘central kitchen mode’ allows for significant breakthroughs in making and publishing news.
The center works like a central kitchen to monitor news and clicks on all terminals 24 hours a day. As soon as there is breaking news, the center will respond and optimize distribution. When the content has been produced, a click will allow it to be published on several platforms. A new studio complex will launch 4K high-definition images, switch between virtual settings and provide fluent interaction with live scenes.
Characteristics and Advantages of “Central Kitchen”
The Central Kitchen concept strengthens cooperation with commercial portal websites, mobile terminals and social platforms such as Baidu and Sina, forming an all-round and three-dimensional communication matrix. It collects, edits and broadcasts content for distribution on multiple platforms.
It also establishes smooth communication and press release channels with many foreign mainstream media, and takes overseas social media accounts as the main position of overseas push, with considerable achievements.
Central Kitchen has the following: Media content release management, Communication effect evaluation, Visual product production, Enrich the form of news products, Expand communication channels, Get comprehensive information feedback, promotes deep convergence.
OMNIMEDIA
The “omni” of “omnimedia” not only includes all kinds of communication tools such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, audio and video, movies, publishing, Internet, telecommunications, satellite communications, etc., but also covers all the senses of people receiving information, such as sight, hearing, image and touch.
Four stages in the architecture process of Omnimedia: 1) Channel change – that is, architecture of media access by technical means; 2) Content change – that is, sorting the content according to the media forms; 3) Information integration; 4) Operation integration – re-integrate the operation integration of media, open the platform, and enlarge the direction of cash flow.
Challenges Faced by Traditional Media
In China, the number of audiences of traditional media is decreasing, and the market share is gradually declining – maybe in your country, it is on the increase or perhaps stagnant. More and more people obtain information through new media, and the young generation takes the Internet as the main way to obtain information. The ability of setting new media topics and influencing public opinion is increasing day by day. A large number of social hotspots are rapidly generated, propagated and spread on the Internet, and the public opinion guiding ability of traditional media has linearly decreased.
Traditional media perspective: Traditional media faces severe challenges, and is no longer the only one. Its readers are attracted to other media, and traditional media loses the attention from young people, causing business difficulties.
Resource Integration
The radio and the website are merged, the original collecting and editing personnel of both sides are integrated, and the “Convergence Media Collecting and Editing Center” is established. When the reporters of the center go out to interview, they carry two kinds of interview equipment, recording pen and digital camera, to provide contributions for the radio and the network at the same time, which not only ensures the source of press releases of both sides and reduces the labor cost, but also improves the authority and originality of the website’s press releases.
Future of Traditional Media
PRC media experts believe that, looking at the foreseeable future, the disadvantaged media survive until they are marginalized and worthless, with the only thing left being the monopoly of issue number, waiting to be incorporated. The well-developed media enter the Omnimedia field in an all-round way. Before encountering the impact of new media, they will first realize the transformation and dissolve the competition in invisibility.
A well-developed media will incorporate the disadvantaged media across regions, forming a regional coverage monopoly, and continuously crack down on competitors to maintain a strong position. The well-developed media with strength and ability will simultaneously incorporate disadvantaged media and enter the Omnimedia field to realize diversified, three-dimensional and comprehensive transformation.
The development of convergence media is the trend of the times. Traditional media without innovation will be difficult to sustain. Innovation can create vitality. Innovation means myriad changes and innovation also means bringing forth the new. However, what remains unchanged is “one center and two basic points,” that is, database as the center and users and services as the basic points.
How to Understand Media Convergence (Convergence Media)
“Convergence Media” is a new media propaganda concept that makes full use of media carriers, integrates radio, television, newspapers and other different media that have both similarities and complements in terms of manpower, content and publicity, and realizes resource integration, content combination, publicity and mutual integration and benefit integration. It is to rationally integrate the human and material resources of new and old media, and change their respective services into common services.
Benefit Integration
The ultimate goal of developing Convergence Media should be beneficial. The benefits are mainly reflected in two aspects; social benefits and economic benefits.
Key Points of Innovation
In addition to the innovation in concept, there are also a series of model innovations in the era of Convergence Media. One of the most important consequences of Convergence Media is that the boundary among media becomes blurred from clear, therefore, getting through is the key to model innovation in the era of Convergence Media.
Main Technical Features
Convergence Media is a media form with information and communication technology as its core, which can obtain information anytime and anywhere through electronic devices, complete interactive feedback from users, participate creatively and form a community. Typical technical features are: digital, networked, interactive, hypertextual and manipulated.
Social and Cultural Characteristics of Convergence Media
The emergence of new media makes ordinary users participate in the process of constructing media content. Media consumers are no longer at the bottom of information circulation. As passive receivers, they can change the flow process and production process of information through active participation and cooperation with other media users.
The three concepts of “producer, seller and consumer” are integrated with the production link of traditional media contents. Ordinary individuals become producers and communicators of news, and play an important role in the reporting of major news events. Ordinary individuals have been involved in the process of news production and mass communication, becoming producers and communicators of information.
To be continued
