Not many years ago news reporters chose as their medium: print, radio or television. Today those options are still available, but the distinction between media has blurred. A new type of journalist is emerging, who is capable of working with print and broadcast (Stepp, 1996, p.19). Editors and journalists who work in this kind of converged system integrate both words with visuals (Christopher 1998, p.136), and draw from writing, editing, designing, imaging and broadcasting to produce media messages (Stepp, p. 21).

The Internet has come quickly to the forefront of information access. The number of print and broadcast organizations with a presence on the Internet is growing at a phenomenal rate (Henderson & Fernback 1998, p.113). Approximately two new newspapers come online daily (p. 117). As rapidly as the Internet has expanded, it is no wonder media organizations are using this tool to spread information around the world. With heavy use of the Internet by media organizations, so too comes convergence, as print and broadcast media adjust their writing style and newsroom format to accommodate online news access.

Historically, as mass media developed, it evolved from individual organizations competitively searching for information that "scooped" their competition, to cooperative organizations where media share resources, producing more efficient and better papers or programming. Current trends show media beginning to work together, not only in methods of production, but also in modes of newsgathering. Mass media organization are beginning to work together in a converged setting where they become not just information providers, but facilitators. Not all media organization have reached a convergent state; some continue to evolve and devolve from one state to another, based upon the needs and goals of the company.

Convergence happens when two or more separate entities, with different goals and purposes come together in one unit, with a desire for similar results (Egan & Hammond, 1997). Print and journalism as it has been known for hundreds of years is changing with media convergence, while broadcasters also must comprehend changes convergence will bring to their relatively "new" medium (Stepp, 1996, p. 21). In fact, some universities in the United States believe they know what the future holds for mass media and are making changes in their curricula to train future journalists on how to respond to the changes of convergence ("VCU seeks" 1996, p.B5).

The convergence of print, broadcast and online media forces strong and conflicting organizational identities built over time to come together in one organization (Hammond & Egan, 1997). As these different newsrooms integrate, both individual and organizational identity issues come to the surface; issues that must be dealt with for convergence to work within these newly created mass multimedia organizations.

Organizational identity, according to Hogg, et al. (1995), is the names and labels within an organization that grant meaning to the company or its employees. Within an organization an individual may have many different identities that make up a part of the identity of the person. Cheney suggests organizational identity is important because it helps us make sense of our organizational environment. Identity within an organization determines not only the commitment and well-being of groups and individuals within an organization, but also their effectiveness (1983). This paper will consider the effects of media convergence on the organizational identity and commitment of print, broadcast and online media in an integrated newsroom (Peterson, 1997).

As mentioned above, a converged newsroom combines three media professions with different identities and purposes into one organization, with a single identity and purpose. Understanding identity, particularly organizational identity, is extremely important for comprehending difficulties that may arise within a converged newsroom. According to Hall, Schneider and Nygren (1970), organizational identification is the "process by which the goals of the organization and those of the individual become increasingly integrated or congruent (p.177). Patchen concurs with Hall et al., and adds that individuals who identify with an organization have feelings of solidarity with the organization, support the organization and have a perception of shared characteristics with other organizational members (1970, p.155). From an organizational identity stand point, one begins to see the dilemma converged newsrooms face and how overcoming these problems may not be simple.

According to Cheney (1983, p. 343) identification is important because it helps us make sense of our experiences, thoughts, decisions and self. An essential element of identity is similar interpretation of signs and symbols. Ones identity will be based strongly on the symbols one views and interacts with daily (Hogg, et al., 1995). People who interact daily with their occupation and organization begin to identify with it. Typically people who identify with their organization are more motivated, have higher job satisfaction and work harder (Hogg, et al.,1995). Also, identity contributes to commitment, cohesiveness and compatibility within an organization.

The ideas of Hogg, et al. on organizational identity are similar to those of Burke (1973), who wrote that identification grants meaning within an organization by giving names and labels to individuals. Employees who understand and take part in an organization’s identity often perform better and have more success than those who do not. As a result, identity within an organization can ultimately determine the well-being of individuals, groups and organizations (Peterson, 1997).

Because print, broadcast and online media are so different concerning presentation and style, some wonder if the three should be left separate. Pratte (1998) believes merging the disciplines in order to serve a "news industry" confuses educational, social, cultural and competitive goals. As seen above, Cheney’s ideas about organizational identity, in relation to the convergence of print, broadcast and on line media, cause one to wonder about conflicts that might occur as the media integrate into one newsroom because of the fundamental differences between them.

In a world where change is expected in almost every organization, it comes as no surprise that change has come to the mass media as well. Some have sought strategic positioning against competitors, others cooperation, and others have merged or converged with their competition (Hammond, 1997, p.1). The addition of cutting edge technology, like the Internet, email, online publishing and the digitization of most media forms, acts as a catalyst for media organizations experiencing major redefinition from broadcast or newspaper to information organization.(p.2).

The question that must be answered is whether or not competitors, print and broadcast journalism, are ready to join forces with the Internet to offer the media consuming public the ultimate media product. Traditionally, newspapers have been some of the harshest critics of broadcast, charging the electronic media with little depth and a singular interest in sound, pictures and little else (McClellan, 1995). The Chicago Tribune, has merged both its broadcast and print outlets into one, Chicago Land Television, to provide better coverage and to use assets and facilities more efficiently. Additionally, they have put both outlets on line to provide even greater news coverage and to give more consumers what they want (Harper 1996).

In a converged newsroom the traditional identity and skills of an editor and reporter are changing. Demands on editors are much greater because they must know more than their specific medium. They must know how to write and edit documents; know which sound and video works best with a story; and be familiar with what is attractive on the Internet (Harper 1996, p.26). Reporters must be aware of how a story they cover can work on television, in the newspaper and on the Internet. They often find themselves covering a story with more than just a notepad and pencil. It is typical to find journalists in a converged system with a note pad, tape recorder, camera, and even video camera to cover a news story (p.25).

Traditional journalists, especially in print, have responded in numerous ways to convergence. Richard Grimes, political editor of the Charleston Daily Mail believes:

Some journalists worry about their inexperience with the Internet. In a survey of newspaper journalists published in the March 1997 issue of Editor & Publisher, 30 percent regularly use the Internet, 26 percent say they are interested in the Internet but are just beginning to experiment with the it. Thirty-one percent do not have access to the Internet and seven percent of those have no desire to gain access or use it, leaving some to wonder how much novelty traditional print journalists want in their job anymore (Fitzgerald 1997, p.105).

Media purists believe co-mingling print, broadcast and the Internet will change the very meaning of the specific medium over time. Soon the traditions of print and broadcast will be lost in a mass of information. With the advent of the converged newsroom, organizational structure and titles will change. With the new organization some editors have seen their newsroom get smarter, more productive and more in tune with their readers, while others bristle with the thought of changing what is presumably working. Editor of the Trentonian, H.L. Schwartz believes people are getting too involved with idiocy [online publishing], rather than producing hard-hitting newspapers (Stepp, 1995, p. 31).

Several different universities have recently implemented a converged newsroom approach to teaching media skills. One of these universities, Virginia Commonwealth University, sees the converged newsroom as the future of mass media. Joyce Dodd, the director of VCU’s school of mass communication, stated:

At VCU, students are taught a converged media curriculum. All students study media ethics and law as well as the fundamentals of print and broadcast journalism.

In 1994 Brigham Young University began to converge its newsroom by integrating the school’s newspaper, the Daily Universe, with its television and radio broadcast news stations, KBYU. This was later combined with the Internet to produce an online news source called NewsNet, http://newsnet.byu.edu/ (Hammond, 1997, p. 6). Initially the process of integration was difficult. Some of the problems faced were concern that print reporters were not getting credit for their stories by broadcasters, broadcasters being inconvenienced by the location of the newsroom, and a lack of cooperation on stories reported on by both print and broadcast journalists (p. 6).

NewsNet editors and managers discovered basic identity and practice issues that were driving the two media apart. First, broadcasters were more time and deadline sensitive. While print journalists were more concerned about topic and depth. Second, print needed many stories to produce a newspaper, while broadcast needed only a small number to produce a newscast. Third, broadcasters were used to working in a group where only one person gets credit for the story, while print journalists were more accustomed to working individually and receiving individual credit (pp. 7-8)

Some scholars disagree with teaching journalists in a converged newsroom format. Mixing media often takes away from the ability to teach the concept of hard news and good reporting skills journalists have learned in the past (Isaacs, 1995). Schools of journalism are currently under increased pressure to insure graduates are technically skilled. Some scholars believe students should be required to take more classes involving traditional print and broadcast journalism skills or they will go into professional newsrooms without the skills they need to survive (Christopher 1998, p.139).

Print journalists bring to the table of news reporting a rich organizational tradition and identity as the watchdogs of society. They value good writing and hard-hitting stories. They have adapted to change over their history by accepting new technology and using it to their benefit. However, most of the technological improvement like better printing and paper, they have encountered has benefited the print industry, rather than competed against it. Only with the advent of broadcasting and the Internet have they had to compete against other media for consumers. Print journalists struggle with the converged newsroom because of the reputation broadcasting and the Internet have as media designed more for entertainment than news.

Broadcast media seem more compatible with the Internet than print because they are already dealing with pictures and sound. Working in a converged newsroom with print journalists could be challenging for that very reason. Broadcast focuses more on timeliness and the appeal of the presentation to the audience, than how in-depth the story is. For example, when you watch the news on television you are likely to get snippets of a few interesting topics, while print takes these topics and expounds on them.

Those who write and publish on the Internet value their ability to be eclectic. Because they do not lack space or time, they are concerned about information being as current as possible, while providing in-depth coverage. They share identities with both print and broadcast and in a strange sort of way seem to be the bridge that could span the wide identity gap between the two competing media forms.

To understand how organizational identity and commitment changes in a converged newsroom, Brigham Young University’s NewsNet, a newsroom where the student newspaper, the Daily Universe, and KBYU, the University’s television and radio broadcast stations are all integrated, was examined. This paper explores organizational identification within the NewsNet newsroom and to discover whether or not organizational identity and commitment increase as students with print, broadcast and on line backgrounds work together in a converged newsroom.

To discover whether or not organizational identity increased over a 16 week semester at NewsNet, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Cheney (1982) created a quantitative instrument called the Organizational Identification Questionnaire (OIQ), which is designed to measure an individual’s identity and commitment to an organization through a battery of 25 Likert-scaled questions. More specifically the questions measure: (1) membership and sense of belonging; (2) loyalty to the organization; (3) perceived similarity with other organizational members or groups within the organization; and (4) degree with which the individual feels the organization represents his or her views (Gates & Hellweg, 1989, p.12).

The OIQ has been used in a variety of studies to determine organizational identification and commitment (Bullis, 1984; Cheney, 1983; Bullis and Bach, 1989; Gates & Hellweg, 1989). The 1989 study, by Bullis and Bach, measuring change in organizational identity, was particularly interesting because it showed the instrument’s ability to measure change. Internal reliability of the OIQ has been consistently reported to be 0.94 using Cronbach’s alpha (Bullis, 1984; Cheney, 1983; Bullis and Bach, 1989). Tompkins (1987) believes the questionnaire is used frequently because it is easily adapted from one type of organization to another with a high degree of reliability.

Following the 25 OIQ question were several demographic questions which reveal professional goals, major and gender--all variables believed to be important to the amount of identity and commitment felt by individuals at NewsNet.

The OIQ was given twice during Fall 1998 semester on the first day students working at NewsNet met, before they were able to establish any form of commitment and identity with NewsNet. The survey was given a second time during the last week of the semester after students had worked within the organization, had an opportunity to identify with the organization and had determined the amount of commitment they felt for it. To avoid bias or faulty data, the OIQ was not given to editors or reporters who had worked at NewsNet in prior semesters. Pre and post administrations of the survey were compared to determine the change in organizational identity.

At the first meeting of the NewsNet class, subjects were asked to voluntarily respond to survey questions. Students were given a control number identifying their survey, yet keeping the individual anonymous. The second administration of the survey, following the same procedures as above, was done during the last week of the semester.

The methodology has some limitations. First, the small number of students involved in the NewsNet class limits the statistical power and confines the number of things that can be done statistically. Personal interviews were conducted with nearly half the participants of NewsNet, which added description and understanding to the survey results. Also, using a sample from a single, student-run, integrated newsroom does not necessarily make the data generalizable to professional situations.

Before new students get to NewsNet, they must take several introductory classes in communication. These classes are taught by faculty and staff who specialize in one specific medium. It is here that many of the students gain identity and commitment toward a major. Some students bring with them a strong print or broadcast identity that has been in the making for several years. The NewsNet class is a prerequisite class for over half of the majors offered through the communication department. Print media, broadcast media and public relations students are required to take the class to advance in their major.

At NewsNet students are assigned to work on different news desks and beats based upon their interests and experience. However, these beats are topic specific, not media specific. All students indifferent of their major are required to do a specific number of print and broadcast stories per week. To most of the students, this can be difficult and time consuming.

The number of introductory students at NewsNet was 52. Thirty-nine participated in both the first and second survey, representing 75 percent of the sample. Survey respondents were evenly divided into three majors, 13 print students, 13 broadcast students and 13 public relations students. Of those surveyed 20 were male and 19 were female and all but one were in their senior or junior year.

The research considered the following two hypotheses:

1. After working for one 16 week semester at NewsNet, student identity will shift to become more in line with the identity of NewsNet.
2. Students who work at NewsNet will be more committed to the integrated system than they were at the beginning of the semester.

The first hypothesis is based upon the idea that after working for an organization for three months the attitudes and beliefs of students will be similar to those of NewsNet. Student reporters will identify with its concepts and ideas. The organization will become a part of their identity and they will feel increasing commitment to the organization.

The second hypothesis expresses the belief that after working for an organization for several months, individuals will approve of the organization, its policies and procedures. In the case of NewsNet, students who are working there will believe in the converged newsroom concept upon which NewsNet is based and will see it as not only possible but the way news will evolve in the next couple of years. NewsNet hopes each person working there will be committed to the organization by supporting its policies and procedures.

After working for one 16 week semester at NewsNet, student identity will shift to become more in line with the identity of NewsNet (H1) seems to be proven in an unusual way. As students came into NewsNet, they entered the experience with a fairly firm identification with one medium or another. The first part of the NewsNet experience was described by many as difficult. Some felt that the attitude of editors and staff was either sink or swim. Also, throughout the semester each person, indifferent of medium, was required to work with both print and broadcast. Some students described this as grueling and difficult because they felt they received little or no help with using equipment and technology necessary to produce a story and because of unfamiliarity with the writing style of the unfamiliar medium.

Rather than refocusing their established mass media identities to include the principles of the converged newsroom, student identity was made much more fluid and malleable by the difficult situations described above. This thawing experience became evident through the interviews, where with little exception students described experiences that reconfirmed their choice of medium. Nearly two-thirds of those interviewed felt like they were "thrown" into the NewsNet experience without being properly trained or prepared. For some this was a positive commitment building experience, for others it was not. One student said, "Camaraderie was created by the need to cling to each other for support as we struggled at the beginning of class." Another student said, "When you start the class, you have no idea what is going on, but little by little you gain more confidence. Finally one student admitted, "I didn’t learn much at the start of NewsNet. I learned mostly by making mistakes and fixing them."

While student identities seemed to change, becoming fluid throughout the semester, there were no experiences within NewsNet that allowed these students to solidify a new identity so after the class ended they remained in their initial identity. Especially telling were survey results that showed only a handful of the respondents moving identity levels from low to moderate identity or moderate to high. Most students stayed within the same identity level fluctuating up or down only a few points.

That students who worked at NewsNet would be more committed to the integrated system than they were at the beginning of the semester (H2) was rejected based upon results from both the surveys and interviews. Initially, NewsNet reporters where unsure of exactly what the converged newsroom experience would be like. Only one survey respondent said he or she would like to work in a converged newsroom in the future. Even more revealing were the second survey results showing only two people of the 39 surveyed who saw themselves working professionally in a converged newsroom five years after they graduated. Of these two, only one changed professional focuses from print to converged media. The other was the same person from the first survey. Total average identity scores went down six points from the first survey to the second survey.

These findings cause us to ask: Why, after three months of an intense converged newsroom program did so very few students feel committed to the system? The answer can be seen in the comments of some of the students. One print student revealed his commitment to the converged system in the following comments, " I hate the broadcast stuff. I want to be well rounded in case convergence really is the trend of the future, but I really like writing for the newspaper and struggle with broadcast stories." A broadcast major said, "I struggle with print because the writing style is so different than broadcast." The feelings of these two students mirror the sentiments of others.

Within the NewsNet system there seem to be other factors besides dislike for the other media that caused students to feel little identity to NewsNet. Some of the factors include inability to adapt to a non-major medium, identity and commitment to beat or desk rather than to the NewsNet organization, commitment based on grade, adopting the identities of previous instructors and commitment of those who recently changed their major from a non-communication to a communication oriented field.

Industry and technology trends clearly show that media convergence is inevitable, but students still commit and identify with the idea and system that is in the past. BYU NewsNet’s attempt to create an integrated newsroom shows that students from print media, broadcast media and public relations are aware and willing to participate in NewsNet. They bring with them into the experience an unthawed identity as either print, broadcast or on-line journalist. Through certain unfreezing processes their identity as a journalist then becomes fluid. Survey results show moderate commitment for the NewsNet program with very few students changing level of identity throughout the semester. The interviews strengthened this perception by showing greater commitment to major.

Because the identity and commitment changes that happen during a semester occur mostly because students are having experiences that make identity fluid, few students feel committed to the NewsNet program. According to survey results showing few identity changes from major to major or from one level to the next, we are led to believe most students leave the program with fluid identity, committed to their desk or major, but not to NewsNet as a whole.

What must happen next is to follow these students into the next phase of their studies to see at what point this fluid identity is made solid again and what form it takes. Another survey should be given to the same sample to determine at what point their identity became solidified and the cause of this change. To capture this data completely and accurately, the survey may need to be given multiple times until these students graduate.

While this study looks only at a scholastic converged newsroom experience, a similar look at professional journalists should by done. Researchers might conduct a similar study in the mass media industry, looking at organizations like Bloomberg, the Associated Press and even CNN to see how journalists at these organizations identify within a converged newsroom and to discover if, when and why their identities become fluid and later solidified.

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