An example study involves Washingtonpost.com, which has agreements with Newsweek, NBC News and MSNBC online to break stories on TV or online before they go to print.
It has also devoted a centrepiece article to Forrest Carr, news director at Media General, which hit the convergence headlines when it moved its Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and WFLA-TV into one building.
Reflecting on his first 12 months in the job, Mr Carr said: "Convergence presents tremendous potential both for competition and for excellence in journalism; many of the fears people have about convergence are just flat wrong.
"One of the basic truths about convergence is that not every story or tip that excites one platform is suitable for another. Sometimes a good newspaper story is just that - a good newspaper story, not suitable for TV.
"The reverse is also true. We co-operate best where our coverage interests overlap. Such areas include investigative news, consumer news, spot or breaking news and medical reporting. Our news philosophies are similar, but not identical. We all believe in such basics as asking tough questions, giving voice to the voiceless, covering the diversity of our communities, and reaching out to those communities through public service.
"Spot news is one area where converged coverage really shines. In spot news, the TV station often goes on the air immediately.
"When a fire broke out in the city, the Tribune and WFLA-TV flooded the field with crews. Multimedia assignment desk editors traded information on where each partner had crews; the TV station's live coverage was supported not only by the station's own crews, but also by Tribune reporters and photographers, who called the station by cell phone.
"While this was going on, the Tribune archive and research office, which has a workstation on the multimedia desk, was able to track down the ownership of the burning building. WFLA got that information on the air immediately, far ahead of its competition."
Sources: click here and here
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
