Media convergence is the moment... But maybe not always? (Core Post #5)

I really liked Henry Jenkins’ “The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence” for how it discussed media convergence in terms of a flow and an ongoing process, as well as the active participation of consumers within media convergence. I think a big issue that not only media conglomerates, but also internet creators, have always had with media convergence is adapting the content to fit different mediums. Jenkins addressed some of this on page 37, “Each time [media conglomerates] move a viewer from, say, television to the internet, there is a risk that the consumer may not return. Sometimes media executives are thinking across media; sometimes they can’t extract themselves from medium-specific paradigms”. This is interesting to me because it is not only a risk for traditional media, but also for online media creators (surprisingly).

We assume that internet creators are more versatile and can easily adapt to different mediums, but there have been many instances when that didn’t work out so well. Comedian and YouTuber Grace Helbig got a deal with E! to bring her YouTube channel to television in “The Grace Helbig Show”. While it was exciting to see a big YouTuber enter the more respectable medium of TV as an official “talk-show” host with A-list celebrities, the humor, style and aesthetics that worked for Helbig so well on line, did not translate to TV. The show’s ratings were so bad that even E! shaded the creator after the show got canceled. Colleen Ballinger (a.k.a. Miranda Sings) is another YouTuber who got her own Netflix show, but it wasn’t received very well. As Deadline reported: “Haters Back Off got off a solid start […], earning a second-year renewal, but in the long run, Ballinger’s huge YouTube following did not quite translate into streaming audience for her Netflix series.” This all made me think about how both media executives and creators still struggle to deal with media convergence, as it isn’t just about shifting to new mediums, but also a shift in content. Not everything translates well to every medium, so although media convergence is our reality, maybe we don’t need to push it so strongly? It’s still ok to stay within one medium.

Jenkins’ discussion on media convergence being “both a top-down corporate-driven process and a bottom-up consumer-driven process” (37) also feels extremely relevant today. TikTok has slowly been gaining some respect within the online community and the way it has been able to generate pop music hits really sky-rocketed the platform and displayed what Jenkins talked about. After including the viral TikTok dance (and its creator) in her music video for Say So, Doja Cat got 15 million views on the video’s first week. The app also made Kesha’s 10-year-old song Cannibal go viral, prompting the singer to release a brand-new lyric video for it.

So yes, media convergence is the moment, but maybe it doesn’t always have to be? If the audience doesn’t ask for it, it might be better to stay within one medium and not risk the ruining the content. I think creators and media conglomerates are starting to understand this, especially since we’ve (thankfully) seen a decline in YouTuber-lead fiction shows on YouTube red… Bless their souls.