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

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.