In chapter five, the definition of repurposing, taking what has been produced for one medium and tailoring it for another, is introduced and explained. We learn that in the era of converged newsrooms this function is a necessity in creating news stories made and edited specifically for each medium. Repurposing also brings about the decision of which medium should be used for which story.
For example, say a journalist is covering the NATO protests in Chicago, a high energy and intense event. Being able to write a story on the protest is important, as many people will want to read about what happened. However, this text-based story has more than just a print aspect to it. People will also want to see images from the protest so they can see the conditions and imagine what it was like being there. They will want to watch videos of the action and interviews from protest leaders. They will want to hear the chants and cries from the rallies. That journalist needs to be able to take their print story and effectively turn it into a story for each other medium.
It may seem simple enough, but news stations and papers have much to consider while they are repurposing stories to fit the different fields of today’s news outlets, most importantly the Internet.
Converting a print story to an online story isn’t a matter of copy and pasting, it takes editing, shortening and making sure online audiences, who are predominantly scanners over readers, will be drawn in to the story. Taking a news story from television and posting it on the web in text form requires making changes to the speech and following the rule of “keep it short”, the same with radio conversions.
The skill of repurposing a story to distinctively fit each format is of high importance as the Internet is a home for each one.
