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In 2000, I began to explore the consequences of the digitalization of television newsrooms in the work of broadcast journalists. Between 2007 and 2014, I studied the convergence models implemented in several European media outlets. Since 2014, I research journalistic innovation, to find out where and how it occurs and what kinds of changes it brings about (De-Lara-González et al., 2015; García-Avilés et al., 2018). According to our findings in the Spanish market, most innovations take place in the areas of product and service, content distribution, and interaction with the audience. Most innovative initiatives were “incremental”: smaller advances or gradual improvements of existing products or services. A few “radical” innovations occurred, mostly within online-only sites. The number of technology-related innovations outweighed the non-technological, leading us to conclude that “while innovation is not necessarily associated with technology, it is an important driver of change” (García-Avilés et al., 2018, p. 38).

Taking one further step, we analyzed how media companies implemented innovations in four main areas: production, distribution, organization, and commercialization (García-Avilés et al., 2019). Each area has its own goal within the company: launching innovative products, improving the distribution channels, innovating in the work structure and newsroom organization, and incorporating new sources of revenue. Within different historical media contexts, a combination of internal and external forces helped bring about change and resulted in the innovation of digital journalism.

A recurring theme in my conversations with journalists over the years has been the reaction to change. I have often discovered an attitude of distrust by most professionals. Before each wave of changes, many journalists invoked news quality and ethical principles to justify their willingness to stay out of innovation, because they regarded innovations as a problem, something that demanded a lot of time and work, or that could threaten their job stability. It is interesting to find out that journalism has traditionally been a profession reluctant to embrace change.

In this study, necessarily short due to space limitations, I present in chronological order some the ethical implications derived from the adoption of innovations in digital journalism.