From Structural Inequalities to Labor Precarity: Adoption of Digital and AI Tools in Latin American Journalism

Garcés-Prettel M.; Arroyave-Cabrera J.; Harlow S.; Kanashiro L.; De Maio M.; Nicoletti J.; Amado A.; Olivera Pérez D.; Oller Alonso M.; González de Bustamante C.; Frías Vázquez M.; Quintanilla-Sangüeza V. · Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly (2026) · DOI: 10.1177/10776990261471551

Resumen

While inequalities in technological access and use have been widely documented, few studies have examined their link to labor precarity and social inequality in journalism in the Global South. This article analyzes this relationship through a multilevel study of Worlds of Journalism Study data from 4,250 journalists in 11 Latin American countries. Results show that macro-level inequality, measured by the Gini coefficient, is not associated with the use of advanced digital technologies, including AI, while micro-level precarity, expressed in contractual instability and excessive workloads, is. Working conditions, rather than national disparities, are key to explaining inequalities in technology adoption. © The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Instituciones: Universidad de Lima