| Abstract [eng] |
The expansion of computerization in the last two decades initiated changes in the speed, scope and even content of communication processes. As a result, a new paradigm of information technologies that marks new forms of society structure and activity organization has developed. The media had to react to the changes and adapt to the new circumstances created by the World Wide Web. In order to manage the risks raised by these changes, media organizations need research of the new market, experiments with the interrelation between a newspaper and its portal. However, research of these developments in Lithuania is at the embryonic stage. The Master thesis contributes to filling in this knowledge gap. The object of the thesis is the interrelation between the Lithuanian daily Lietuvos rytas and its portal version lrytas.lt. The aim of the research is to explore the interrelation between the paper version of the Lithuanian daily Lietuvos rytas and its portal version lrytas.lt from the viewpoint of convergence. The objectives are to methodologically reason the interrelation between the Lithuanian daily Lietuvos rytas and its portal version lrytas.lt, identify the logics of the interaction among different means of the media, analyze the principles of the media convergence, the development of the internet version of the daily Lietuvos rytas, the impact of the media’s transformation on the information content, evaluate the capability of Lietuvos rytas organization for transformation. The daily Lietuvos rytas was chosen for the specific process it underwent when developing its Internet version. Its example is unique among Lithuanian newspapers. It repeats the experience of foreign newspapers which progressed from the printed to the Internet version. Yet the Lietuvos rytas did not have the resources of the Washington Post or the New York Times, thus, the possibilities of organization’s expansion were limited. Besides, the experience of the Lithuanian daily revealed other differences, such as size of market, which have determined a specific situation of Lithuania’s internet media. The methods employed in the theoretical part of the work are common scientific research methods such as literature analysis, comparative analysis, synthesis, abstraction, deduction. They revealed new conditions of communication in the society characteristics of the internet media and its interaction with the traditional media. The systematized theoretical insights were compared to the findings of the prior research, the trends of the transformation of the internet media identified and its development directions forecasted. The method of the empirical research is a semi-structured interview. It allowed to deepen the understanding of the aspects of media convergence, compare the development of the interrelation between the paper version of the daily with its portal with the analogous process in Western countries, reveal the development of the daily’s electronic version as well as the audience’s reaction to the changes. The research findings allow to conclude that the daily Lietuvos rytas is involving into the process of convergence, the interrelation between the traditional daily and its portal repeats the tendencies generalized by Western scientists, i.e. the audience is granted a new role, the diversity of presenting of information forms is exploited, hypertextuality. The world wide web changes the model of the media business. The changed conditions reveal the necessity of developing new skills for journalists. The thesis deepens the understanding of the changes of the Lithuanian media, reveals the results and regularities of the interaction among technologies, organization and audience that has been underexplored in Lithuania. The results could be used in further research of the development of other media means in Lithuania. |
