ABSTRACT
In the first chapter of this book, we proposed that drones, as a disruptive innovation, challenge journalism at its roots. The expanding use of advanced sensor platforms prompts complex privacy and accountability issues that concern global society as a whole. Thus, responsible drone journalism deals with issues of ubiquitous surveillance as well as with explorative risk taking and critical questioning. And yet we are only at the beginning of a new era of nanoscale or miniaturization of drones – a megatrend that in itself might overturn current knowledge with far-reaching implications for society. Since conducting research on drones is hunting a moving target, we turn to futures thinking to discuss what might happen to this technology next. More specifically, we briefly sketch three alternative scenarios that may impact on the further development of responsible drone journalism globally. Instead of boxing the scenarios in, we open them up and invite readers of this chapter to start building more drone scenarios that might be particularly relevant in their specific contexts.
