A Brief Analysis of Form Innovation in Convergent Journalism Planning: The Case of Qatar World Cup Coverage

Abstract

Convergent journalism, also known as multimedia journalism, integrates multiple media formats through novel platforms or technological production, incorporating multimedia elements to form a distinct journalistic format. This approach emphasises novelty. New forms of journalism, new journalistic concepts-integrated journalism demands careful consideration across multiple fronts, including topic selection and content planning, alongside the design of integrated formats and dissemination methods. It involves multimedia convergence, necessitating innovation in both form and narrative language. Planning dissemination methods requires addressing the integrated communication of integrated journalism releases, encompassing channel convergence and cross-boundary integration. This includes the consolidation of integrated journalism channels, dialogue, and the industry penetration and complementarity of integrated journalism operations.Convergent journalism reconfigures the interactive relationship between news and social reality through symbolic restructuring, emotional activation, deepened interaction, and algorithmic empowerment. By situating narrative strategies within a "discourse practice" framework, convergent journalism represents not merely a formal innovation but a revolution in how societal cognition is constructed-shifting from mere fact transmission to co-creation of meaning. Its significance lies in its non-linear narratives, deep user engagement, and multi-modal collaboration. Emphasizing fundamental transformation: shifting from sender-centricity to user empowerment, and from factual notification to meaning co-creation, constitutes the core of convergent journalism. Temporal narratives achieve non-linear navigation through dynamic timelines; spatial narratives construct immersive scenes via VR panoramas; relational narratives rely on data correlations to reveal complex event connections. This signal integration not only expands journalism's expressive dimensions but also reconfigures audience cognitive schemata.