Before you attempt the question, I want you to read the examiner's report from that year. It will give you some context and advice. Know what they are looking for.
Convergence allows audiences to access media content from multiple platforms on one
device. Assess the impact of convergence in your cross-media study.
The definition in the question and
the familiarity with related concepts such as synergy meant that many students were able to use
their cross-media studies effectively here.
The question also allowed students to explicitly discuss
the increasingly blurred boundaries between platforms in their case studies. While many sound
responses emphasised the ease of access to media products as a great benefit and the main
impact of convergence, there were also some impressive responses where students took a more
complex view and often questioned the seemingly positive impact of convergence. Some answers
described well the effect of convergence on the audience meaning that the user can never escape
the media; that it has enabled a commercial saturation which becomes increasingly difficult to
avoid.
There was also a recognition that convergence was often to the financial benefit of institutions
rather than audiences – a point made effectively through examples from the print media.
Interestingly several responses questioned just how meaningful convergence was or whether it
was simply speeding up a process that already existed.
There was also the usual concern for ‘old
people’ who can’t use new technology and were therefore missing out on the benefits of
convergence (suggesting that the study of user demographics might be a useful area to include in
future cross-media studies!)
Some very successful answers considered the technological impacts in original ways – the fact
that apps don’t have the same range of information and functionality as websites, the change to
our film consumption through watching on tablets and smart phones. One student referred to the
‘intimacy’ of viewing a film on a phone. Some of the strongest answers debated the idea of
convergence as a democratic tool, providing access to the media outside of the mainstream
institutions, but these optimistic points were often countered by recognition of institutional
dominance.
There was a consensus that convergence was part of an increasing speed of turnover of content in
the media (and life) which can have a variety of effects. One student discussed the reception of
films through convergence and how this digital ‘word of mouth’ has a rapid and devastating impact
on the film industry (one example used was the flop Grace of Monaco).
It was notable that very few
– if any – students referred to the impact on privacy and access to personal data enabled by
convergence which would have been a relevant approach.
Problems in answering the question came through lack of focus when students described the
existence of their cross-media study across the three media platforms but didn't consider the effect
of access through one device or the impact of convergence.
Task:
Make a note of the media language words you could use in this question from the blue side of the PEEL CHEAT SHEET to form a plan.
Use the suggested POINTS on the blue side of the PEEL CHEAT SHEET to start writing a response.
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