Journalism, Digital Media and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (2024)

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, is the fourth most important industrial stage that has occurred since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. This new revolution is characterized by combining cutting-edge production techniques with intelligent systems that integrate with organizations and people. Communication and journalism, especially digital media, face the challenge of integrating emerging technologies and practices or in-test or developing technologies into companies and communicative products, that are breaking down the boundaries between physical, digital, and biological. This collection analyzes and reflects on the impact of Industry 4.0 on journalism and digital media.

The collection is split into three parts. The first part analyzes the emergence of centralized and decentralized networks and their impact on digital media. Specifically, it delves into the role of cryptographic journalism and the impactof free and collaborative networks in the fediverse to fight against disinformation and censorship, as well as to promote data and metadata journalism. In a second part, the "innovation of innovation" is explored with the aim of continuing to create products that satisfy the needs of 4.0 audiences. This is where the challenges and opportunities offered by the metaverse, content automation technologies, the impact of the Internet of Things on journalism, labs, the application of R+D+I to journalism, and collaborative encounters between journalists to develop highly innovative proposals are explored. Finally, in the third part of the book, the emergence of new communicative and journalistic actors in the 4.0 context is reviewed. Examples include start-ups, spin-offs or other entrepreneurial initiatives, communication of knowledge transfer, new financing models, and outsourcing of tasks, new proposals for newsgames, or the impact of artificial intelligence in journalism practices. In addition, a final chapter is dedicated to exploring the new professional skills needed for journalists in this Fourth Industrial Revolution.