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Crisis, Opportunity, and the Evolution of Digital Journalism and Media...
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Department of Journalism, School of Social and Communication Sciences, University of the Basque, 48940 Leioa, Spain
Dr. Javier Odriozola Chéné
Department of Sociology and Communication Sciences, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Coruña University, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology, Rey Juan Carlos University, 39001 Santander, Spain
Dr. Ana Serrano-Tellería
Journalism Faculty, University of Castilla La Mancha, 16071 Cuenca, Spain
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Crisis, Opportunity, and the Evolution of Digital Journalism and Media Industries

Abstract submission deadline
31 August 2027
Manuscript submission deadline
31 October 2027
Viewed by
2548

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

The digital transformation has profoundly reshaped journalism and media industries, generating both crises and opportunities. Economic pressures, platformization, audience fragmentation, and the rise in artificial intelligence and algorithmic mediation have disrupted traditional structures of production and circulation while fostering new forms of creativity, participation, and engagement. These shifts also expose new vulnerabilities, such as the amplification of misinformation, polarization, and hate speech, which challenge the ethical and social responsibilities of media actors in the digital age.

This Topic, entitled “Crisis, Opportunity, and the Evolution of Digital Journalism and Media Industries”, seeks to explore how different kinds of crises—economic, political, technological, or epistemic—act as catalysts for change across journalism, entertainment, and interactive media sectors. Such transformations also exert a direct influence on users, who, through processes of empowerment and the capacity to reach mass audiences via digital platforms, assume an increasingly active and participatory role within the contemporary hybrid media system. Equally, it aims to examine how emerging opportunities, including those enabled by AI, redefine professional practices, industrial logics, creative processes, and audience relationships. Contributions may address transformations in news and entertainment ecosystems, platform governance, creative labor, automation, gaming and transmedia storytelling, datafication, or the political economy of digital culture.

We welcome the submission of both theoretical and empirical research that offers critical, comparative, or interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolution of journalism and media industries in times of change. We look forward to receiving contributions that expand the dialogue on how crises, innovations, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the future of digital communication, culture, and media.

Prof. Dr. Koldobika Meso-Ayerdi
Dr. Javier Odriozola Chéné
Dr. Rosa Pérez Arozamena
Dr. Ana Serrano-Tellería
Topic Editors

Keywords

  • digital journalism
  • media industries
  • artificial intelligence
  • automation
  • digital culture
  • gaming
  • transmedia storytelling
  • audience engagement
  • hate speech

Participating Journals

Journal Name Impact Factor CiteScore Launched Year First Decision (median) APC
Behavioral Sciences
behavsci 		3.2 4.1 2011 32 Days CHF 2200 Submit
Journalism and Media
journalmedia 		2.5 3.2 2020 26.3 Days CHF 1200 Submit
Social Sciences
socsci 		2.0 3.5 2012 33.1 Days CHF 1800 Submit

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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23 pages, 358 KB  
Article
Audience-Persona-Driven Approaches to Humanitarian Disaster: Reporting in Narasi’s Aceh Flood Coverage
by Rulli Nasrullah, Amin Shabana, Muh. Yahya Saraka, Topikurohman Topikurohman, Jamaluddin Djunaid and Jumroni Sulaeman
Journal. Media 2026, 7(2), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia7020092 - 30 Apr 2026
Viewed by 689
Abstract
This study explores how audience-persona-driven approaches enhance the understanding of humanitarian disaster reporting, using Narasi’s coverage of the Aceh floods as a focal case. By examining how humanitarian narratives are constructed and interpreted across digital platforms, the analysis highlights the ways audiences engage [...] Read more.
This study explores how audience-persona-driven approaches enhance the understanding of humanitarian disaster reporting, using Narasi’s coverage of the Aceh floods as a focal case. By examining how humanitarian narratives are constructed and interpreted across digital platforms, the analysis highlights the ways audiences engage emotionally, critically, and civically with crisis reporting. Audience personas—such as helpers, skeptics, and critical citizens—offer a lens for identifying distinct patterns of empathy, solidarity, moral judgment, and demands for accountability. These personas reveal not only how viewers respond to journalistic framing but also how they co-construct meaning through comments, affective expressions, and collective critique. This study demonstrates that Narasi’s reporting activates humanitarian values and fosters participatory public engagement, showing the potential of persona-based analysis to illuminate the complex interplay between narrative framing, paratextual cues, and audience interpretation. Ultimately, this approach underscores the value of integrating audience-centered perspectives into contemporary humanitarian communication research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Topic Crisis, Opportunity, and the Evolution of Digital Journalism and Media Industries)
16 pages, 273 KB  
Article
The Medium’s Agenda or the Audience’s Clicks? Tensions Between Editorial Lines and Audience Interests According to the Editors of Digital Media in Chile
by Francisca Greene González, Eduardo Gallegos Krause and Cristian Muñoz Catalán
Journal. Media 2026, 7(1), 57; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia7010057 - 13 Mar 2026
Viewed by 967
Abstract
This study examines the tension between audience interests and editorial lines in the major national and regional digital media outlets in Chile. It analyzes how editors incorporate metrics and user feedback into content selection and prioritization processes. The sample included the five websites [...] Read more.
This study examines the tension between audience interests and editorial lines in the major national and regional digital media outlets in Chile. It analyzes how editors incorporate metrics and user feedback into content selection and prioritization processes. The sample included the five websites with the largest national reach according to the 2024 ComScore ranking (El Mercurio Online, BioBioChile, La Tercera, Megamedia and Chilevisión), along with digital media outlets from the country’s five most populous cities without counting the capital (La Serena, Rancagua, Antofagasta, Valparaíso, and Temuco). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with directors or editors to assess whether the use of metrics influences journalistic judgment and editorial autonomy. Data were analyzed through a thematic analysis, combining categories drawn from the literature with emergent codes. The findings indicate that audience feedback affects editorial decision-making, although to varying degrees depending on the type of outlet. In national newspapers, a fiduciary vision is more firmly sustained due to greater financial capacity, albeit with internal tensions. In contrast, regional media outlets face greater challenges in maintaining their editorial line in the face of metrics, as lower economic stability and dependence on digital traffic tend to favor dynamics closer to a market-driven model. Although the findings are based on professional discourse and do not include direct observation of production routines, the comparison between national and regional media offers a cross-cutting perspective on editorial autonomy within the Chilean digital media ecosystem, an area that remains underexplored in the country. Overall, the study shows that metrics place pressure on both editorial policy and journalistic practices by requiring a continuous balancing of professional judgment and real-time audience behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Topic Crisis, Opportunity, and the Evolution of Digital Journalism and Media Industries)
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