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Deconstructing “Media Convergence”: A Cultural History of the Buzzword, 1980s–2010s

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Media Convergence and Deconvergence

Abstract

This chapter aims to deconstruct, mainly through a revision of scientific literature, the historical meanings of the term “media convergence” from the 1980s to the early 2010s. During these decades, media convergence has become more and more a popular buzzword in media studies and has been surrounded by the emergence of four different discourses and narratives. A technological narrative has focused on the coming together of different technical devices up to the so-called überbox. An economic/market dimension has been symbolized by mergers and acquisitions among private companies in different sectors. A political/regulatory media convergence has become a common policy in different countries and institutions, willing to favor and, at the same time, to respond to market convergence. Finally, a cultural perspective has seen new users’ practices and new production and distribution of content as the key phenomena in media convergence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USI Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland

    Gabriele Balbi

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  1. Gabriele Balbi
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Correspondence to Gabriele Balbi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Studies, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Sergio Sparviero

  2. Department of Communication Studies, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Corinna Peil

  3. Institute of Media and Journalism, USI Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland

    Gabriele Balbi

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Balbi, G. (2017). Deconstructing “Media Convergence”: A Cultural History of the Buzzword, 1980s–2010s. In: Sparviero, S., Peil, C., Balbi, G. (eds) Media Convergence and Deconvergence. Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A Palgrave and IAMCR Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51289-1_2

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