 The technology-powering news is changing. Here's the tech that's going to change it. Technology's been changing news like crazy, and it's not going to stop anytime soon. So what are the tech trends that are likely to end up in the newsroom of the future? These five trends certainly aren't the only ones, but they give us a good overview of where tech is headed as it crosses into the world of media and journalism. Let's count them down. Number five, virtual reality. It's been early days in VR for, oh, 30 years or so, but enough attempts have been made that it feels like we're closing in on a hit here, especially since Apple has entered the arena with the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset coming in early 2024. Now Apple typically enters a product category when it's pretty certain of the potential market. So what good is it to us? Well, VR can create a sense of place in a way that no other platform can. And when you talk about putting the reader in the story, it becomes almost literal in VR and AR. Coming in at number four, satellite internet. The Telegraph made it possible for a journalist to send a story from closer to where it happened instead of having to travel all the way back to the newsroom. Satellite internet will let reporters not only file stories but live stream video from anywhere on the planet. This isn't just SpaceX's Starlink either. There are efforts from U-TelSat, OneWeb, Project Kuiper, and satellite makers Surrey Satellite Technology and Sierra Nevada. This isn't just a service coming in the future anymore either. Satellites are up there and they're offering service. It isn't worldwide yet, but within the next few years it'll get close and you'll have a choice. Up to number three, mobile. Nah, seems obvious, right? But hear me out. 97.3% of the world's population is covered by mobile service. Stat counter estimates that 53% of the traffic at tracks worldwide comes from a mobile device. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are growing up using mobile devices. Stories, including print, audio, and video need to take into account that this is becoming the primary consumption method for much of the audience. And you can use mobile devices to gather and publish news as well. Phones are capable of shooting and editing 4K video, and on-device tools can organize and search through notes for your facts, quotes, and more. Sliding into number two, blockchain. I'll pause for your laughter. Great, thank you. Blockchain gets a bad rap sometimes because it is much too often promoted as a get-rich-quick scheme or replacing things that are done just as well by a centralized database. But it's unparalleled in creating a decentralized, difficult-to-alter record of digital events. If I told you there could be a legend that no single person could control or get rid of and that every entry was heavily authenticated and almost impossible to alter, I imagine you could find a use for it. Yeah, it needs to clean up its energy sources, but this is still a technology to watch if only for its potential to verify where stories and sources came from. At number one, AI, artificial intelligence, you knew it was going to be on the list. And while outlets like Bloomberg and AP have been using it for years to write some basic articles, as some other outlets have discovered, it's not likely to replace humans. But it already is an invaluable tool for humans when used correctly. This goes beyond writing to suggesting elements of a story to pursue, even analyzing data sets to help story selection, not to mention the data analysis that can be used to customize publications and even individual stories to the reader. I could have also included 3D printing, making video sets and other tools faster to create in prototype and robotics. There's a lot more to robotics than just using a drone to take photos and videos. My first newsroom had cutting edge experimental internet access. We used it for Gopher and Archie, but only in the lab. I wrote my stories in Wordstar. I edited video on three-quarter inch tape and audio on reel to reel. That was 30 years ago. Now I write in a web browser on my phone, publish my podcast on RSS, and stream live video on Twitch. The technology changes inevitably and it's important to change with it so you can get out the story because stories told by humans are what journalism is about.