"EMERGING VOICES: AI, VIRTUAL REALITY, AND THE CHANGING PARADIGMS OF JOURNALISTIC STORYTELLING"

Abstract

The technological advancements in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) are transforming journalistic storytelling, which offers new prospects and obstacles in the media environment. This research work explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) are integrated in journalism with the perceived advantages and barriers to application. Quantitative findings reveal that for journalists, AI and VR are useful to improve work efficiency (M = 4.1) and audience engagement (M = 4.2). Nonetheless, there are great barriers to their being widely adopted. The most frequently mentioned difficulty is lack training or knowledge (46.7%), high cost of technology (33.3%). Qualitative finding from interviews and open answers of surveys support these findings where participants raise concern about ethical storytelling, whereby there must be clear guidelines to curb the risks of misinformation and bias. The high mean ratings of perceived benefits combined suggest a strong belief in the transformative prospects of these technologies, while the barriers point towards the urgent need for purpose-tailored training programs and financing options to support the access to these technologies for journalists, especially in smaller newsrooms. The study recommends collective efforts of stakeholders to define educational initiatives and funding schemes enticing technology implementation in journalism. In the end, it is conquering such barriers that will allow journalists to realize the whole potential of AI and VR techniques and increase the quality and engagement level of journalistic works without violating the standards of ethics in reporting. Longitudinal studies and case analyses should be the focus of future research in order to investigate the long-term implication on shifting landscape of journalism of these technologies.