CFP: High-Tech Journalism: Innovation, Responsibility, and Ethical Challenges

Posted on 2026-03-17 14:33:54

The international journal Miguel Hernández Communication Journal invites the submission of articles for the special issue “High-Tech Journalism: Innovation, Responsibility, and Ethical Challenges.” This monographic issue calls for research that analyzes the growing incorporation of disruptive technologies into journalistic processes and routines, especially since the emergence of ChatGPT. The deadline for the submission of full papers (via the journal’s platform) is October 1, 2026.

Over the past decade, technological acceleration has driven profound transformations in journalistic practice. High-tech journalism, understood as the use of complex and disruptive techniques in information processes (Pérez-Seijo et al., 2020; Salaverría, 2015), has become established as a trend in newsrooms through various subfields such as immersive journalism (de la Peña et al., 2010; Domínguez-Martín, 2015; Vázquez-Herrero & Sirkkunen, 2022), drone journalism (Almalki et al., 2022; Gallardo-Camacho & Rodríguez-Breijo, 2020; Gynnild, 2014; Tremayne & Clark, 2013), and automated journalism (Carlson, 2014; Graefe, 2016; Lewis et al., 2019; Lindén, 2017), each with different levels of development and adoption (López Hidalgo, 2016; López-García & Vizoso, 2021; Pérez-Seijo et al., 2020; Salaverría, 2015).

In recent years, the widespread use of artificial intelligence in newsrooms has particularly redefined practices and professional profiles, affecting journalism training programs and business models, and offering significant opportunities (Gómez-Diago, 2022; Simon, 2022; Túñez López et al., 2021; Ufarte-Ruiz et al., 2020), although it is not the only driver of change. Techniques such as blockchain and concepts such as the metaverse continue to play a role in journalistic innovation (Fieiras-Ceide et al., 2025; Santos, 2023).

At the same time, the transformations brought about by high-tech journalism renew and generate ethical and organizational challenges. Algorithmic bias, the redefinition of authorship, data management, editorial transparency, and even human replacement in the case of generative artificial intelligence (Canavilhas, 2025; Gutiérrez-Caneda et al., 2024; Misri et al., 2025; Pérez-Seijo et al., 2024; Sarrionandia et al., 2025; Ventura-Pocino, 2021), as well as the risk of “improper distance” or forced empathy, the recreation of scenes, or the journalist’s influence on the scene in immersive content (Kent, 2015; Nash, 2017; Pérez-Seijo & López-García, 2018, 2021; Schlembach & Clewer, 2021), are just some examples. These and other debates arise with the introduction of complex and disruptive techniques and require critical and reflective analysis.

In this context, it is essential to study how media organizations are adapting to these changes: what innovation processes are being implemented, what impact they have on work models, editorial decision-making, the professional profiles in demand, training, and the resulting journalistic products. Furthermore, a deep reflection on the new ethical and deontological debates that emerge is crucial to ensure that the core values of journalism are preserved, guaranteeing its role as a protector of an informed, democratic, and free society.

Without being limited to them, submissions are encouraged on the following topics:

  • Immersive journalism and new narratives: analysis of VR/AR/MR experiences, changes in storytelling construction, impact on news production, resulting ethical challenges, and audience reception studies.

  • Drone journalism and new forms of image capture: professional uses of drones for news coverage, safety, regulation, ethical dilemmas, and tensions between innovation, privacy, and editorial responsibility.

  • Uses of artificial intelligence in the news cycle: implementation of AI in production, verification, distribution, and interaction; ethical risks; effects on professional routines and business models.

  • Journalistic innovation: innovation labs, hubs, and experimental projects developed in media organizations to explore, prototype, and evaluate new technologies, methodologies, and production models.

  • Emerging technologies and their relationship with transparency, verification, and traceability (AI, blockchain, NFTs, decentralized systems).

  • Ethical risks and consequences of incorporating advanced technologies (bias, editorial responsibility, privacy, etc.).

  • Changes in professional profiles and new competencies for the journalism of the future.

  • Audiences and interaction with media: studies on the effects of algorithmic personalization, interaction in immersive environments, and other forms of technology-mediated participation.

Suggested keywords: immersive journalism, drone journalism, artificial intelligence, journalistic innovation, disruptive technologies, blockchain, newsrooms, ethics, metaverse.

References

Almalki, F.A., Aljohani, M., Algethami, M., & Soufiene, B. O. (2022). Incorporating Drone and AI to Empower Smart Journalism via Optimizing a Propagation Model, Sustainability, 14(7), 3758. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073758

Carlson, M. (2014). The Robotic Reporter. Digital Journalism, 3(3), 416-431. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.976412

De la Peña, N., Weil, P., Llobera, J., Giannopoulos, E., Pomés, A., Spanglang, B., Friedman, D., Sánchez-Vives, M., & Slater, M. (2010). Immersive journalism: Immersive virtual reality for the first-person experience of news. Presence, 19(4), 291–301. https://doi.org/10.1162/PRES_a_00005

Domínguez-Martín, E. (2015). Periodismo inmersivo o cómo la realidad virtual y el videojuego influyen en la interfaz e interactividad del relato de actualidad. Profesional de la Información, 24(4), 413–423. http://dx.doi.org/10.3145/epi.2015.jul.08

Fieiras Ceide, C., Crespo Pereira, V., & Túñez López, M. (2025). Posibilidades y limitaciones de los medios de comunicación en el metaverso: posicionamiento estratégico, exploración narrativa e inmersión. Doxa Comunicación. Revista Interdisciplinar de Estudios de Comunicación y Ciencias Sociales, 41, 95-115. https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n41a2663

Gynnild, A. (2014). The Robot Eye Witness: Extending visual journalism through drone surveillance. Digital Journalism, 2(3), 334–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.883184

Gallardo-Camacho, J., & Rodríguez Breijo, V. (2020). Relationships between Law Enforcement Authorities and Drone Journalists in Spain. Media and Communication, 8(3), 112–122. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v8i3.3097

Gómez-Diago, G. (2022). Perspectivas para abordar la inteligencia artificial en la enseñanza de periodismo. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 80, 29-46. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2022-1542

Graefe, A. (2016). Guide to Automated Journalism. Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia Journalism School. https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/guide_to_automated_journalism.php/

Gutiérrez-Caneda, B., Lindén, C.G., & Vázquez-Herrero, J. (2024). Ethics and journalistic challenges in the age of artificial intelligence: talking with professionals and experts. Frontiers in Communications. 9:1465178. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1465178

Kent, T. (2015). An ethical reality check for virtual reality journalism by Tom Kent. Medium. https://medium.com/@tjrkent/an-ethical-reality-check-for-virtual-reality-journalism-8e5230673507

Lindén, C.-G. (2017).  Algorithms for journalism: The future of news work. The Journal of Media Innovations, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.5617/jmi.v4i1.2420

Lewis, Seth C.; Guzman, Andrea L. & Schmidt, Thomas R. (2019). Automation, journalism, and human–machine communication: Rethinking roles and relationships of humans and machines in news. Digital Journalism, 7(4), 409–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1577147

López-García, X. & Vizoso, Á. (2021). Periodismo de alta tecnología: signo de los tiempos digitales del tercer milenio. Profesional de la Información, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.may.01

López-Hidalgo, A. & Aramburú Moncada, L. G. (2016). La apuesta de las universidades por el periodismo dron. TecCom Studies: Estudios de Tecnología y Comunicación, (7), 123–134. https://cutt.ly/KrlgWATH

Misri, A., Blanchett, N., & Lindgren, A. (2025). “There’s a Rule Book in my Head”: Journalism Ethics Meet A.I. in the Newsroom. Digital Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2025.2495693

Nash, K. (2017). Virtual reality witness: exploring the ethics of mediated presence. Studies in Documentary Film, 12(2), 119–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/17503280.2017.1340796

Pérez-Seijo, S. & López-García, X. (2018). Las dos caras del Periodismo Inmersivo: el desafío de la participación y los problemas éticos. En M. López Paredes (Ed.), Nuevos Escenarios de la Comunicación: Retos y Convergencias. Centro de Publicaciones PUCE.

Pérez-Seijo, S., Gutiérrez-Caneda, B. & López-García, X. (2020). Periodismo digital y alta tecnología: de la consolidación a los renovados desafíos. index.Comunicación, 10(3), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.33732/ixc/10/03Period

Pérez Seijo, S., Gutiérrez Caneda, B. & Vázquez Herrero, J. (2024). Un periodismo vulnerable: Riesgos y desafíos de la alta tecnología. En H. Aznar Gómez & R. F. Rodríguez Borges (Coords.), Vulnerabilidad y comunicación social: Fragilidad humana en la esfera pública (pp. 221–236). Tirant lo Blanch. ISBN 9788430991716.

Salaverría, R. (2015). Periodismo en 2014: balance y tendencias. En Cuadernos de Periodistas http://www.cuadernosdeperiodistas.com/periodismo-en-2014-balance-ytendencias/

Santos, F. C. C. (2023). Artificial Intelligence in Automated Detection of Disinformation: A Thematic Analysis. Journalism and Media, 4(2), 679–687. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4020043

Sarrionandia, B., Peña-Fernández, S., Pérez-Dasilva, J. Á., & Larrondo-Ureta, A. (2025). Artificial intelligence training in media: Addressing technical and ethical challenges for journalists and media professionals. Frontiers in Communication, 10, 1537918. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1537918

Schlembach, R. & Clewer, N. (2021). ‘Forced empathy’: Manipulation, trauma and affect in virtual reality film. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 24(5), 827-843. https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779211007863

Simon, F. M. (2022). Uneasy Bedfellows: AI in the News, Platform Companies and the Issue of Journalistic Autonomy. Digital Journalism, 10(10), 1832-1854. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2063150

Tremayne, M. & Clark, A. (2013). New Perspectives from The Sky. Digital Journalism, 2(2), 232-246. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2013.805039

Túñez-López, J. M.; Fieiras Ceide, C. & Vaz-Álvarez, M. (2021). Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Journalism: transformations in the company, products, contents and professional profile. Communication & Society, 34(1), 177-193. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.34.1.177-193

Ufarte Ruiz, M. J., Calvo Rubio, L. M. & Murcia Verdú, F. J. (2020). Las tecnologías hi-tech en los grados en Periodismo. Planes de estudios, formación de los periodistas y propuestas de inserción curricular. adComunica. Revista Científica de Estrategias, Tendencias e Innovación en Comunicación, 20, 43-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.6035/2174-0992.2020.20.3

Vázquez-Herrero, J. &  Sirkkunen, E. (2022). Back to Fukushima: Perceptions and effects of an immersive journalism story. Profesional de la Información, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2022.ene.08

Ventura-Pocino, P. (2021). Algorithms in the newsrooms: Challenges and recommendations for artificial intelligence with the ethical values of journalism. Barcelona: Catalan Fundació Consell de la Información de Catalunya/Press Council.

 

Contact

For inquiries regarding the suitability of proposals, please contact:

Author guidelines:
https://revistas.innovacionumh.es/index.php/mhcj/about/submissions

Guest Editors Beatriz Gutiérrez Caneda

PhD in Contemporary Communication and Information. Member of the Novos Medios research group. Her research focuses on the integration of disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, in newsrooms from an ethical and deontological perspective.

Jorge Vázquez Herrero

Associate Professor of Journalism in the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Santiago de Compostela. PhD in Contemporary Communication and Information. Member of the Novos Medios research group and the Institute for Studies and Development of Galicia (IDEGA). His research focuses on the impact of technology and platforms on digital journalism and narratives, including recent studies on disinformation and AI.

João Canavilhas

Full Professor at the Universidade da Beira Interior, scientific coordinator of Labcom – Communication Laboratory, and consultant/evaluator of projects in Portugal, Spain, Brazil, and the European Commission. His research focuses on various aspects of the relationship between communication and emerging technologies, particularly in journalism and politics.