New Collaboration Forms in Media Industry: A Case Study of Story Exchange and Concurrent Narrating in Newspaper Network

摘要

Due to technological development media industry is changing comprehensively. Advanced media and communications technologies have had a great impact on newspapers as business and as working organizations. During the past five years, media industry has implemented new tools, and news distribution channels because of the modern applications of the information technology. Traditional printed media compete with the products of the new digital media. Newspaper houses are compelled to look for new distribution channels for their products. Newspapers have also started to collaborate with each other in order to strengthen their position in the changing media economy. This trend is expected to continue. This study will focus on story exchange and concurrent narrating as knowledge product sharing in Newspaper industry. Newspaper industry is changing rapidly because of the implementation of new information and communication technology. The other reason for change is the competition with the other media. It has forced the editorials of the newspaper to find new effective ways to operate to manage with the new challenges. Circulation of the newspapers has decreased during the past few years, and this trend is likely, to continue. Newspapers editorials need to redesign the production process and to find new innovate ways to organize the work of editorial staff. This study provides more understanding about media cooperation as a network, and about benefits and problems the content providers meet when collaborating and sharing knowledge products. The case study focuses on the Theme editorial of the three local newspapers' editorial offices in Finland The study was conducted in 2000. The data was collected using interviews and observation, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that the networking is very effective way to produce common material and share knowledge products between organizations. There are some problems caused by information and communication technology. Most important is, however, people's attitudes towards colfaboration. Without positive attitude the collaboration may not work.