Executive Summary: Journalism in the AI era — insights from a study for the Thomson Reuters Foundation
Opportunities and challenges in the Global South and emerging economies
This is an extract from a report that I wrote for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and published earlier this year, exploring Journalism in the AI Era: Opportunities and Challenges in the Global South. Over the coming week, I’ll be posting the study on a chapter-by-chapter basis.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already transforming the journalism industry and has the potential to dramatically change how news and information is consumed and created.
Driven by new generative AI technologies, we may be witnessing the start of a new era of efficiency, creativity, and innovation in newsrooms. However, for all these potential benefits, the AI-age also presents significant challenges for journalists, particularly in areas such as ethics, equity, and access to digital technology.
This new report from the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) examines how journalists in the Global South and emerging economies[1] are navigating this landscape by exploring their adoption of AI tools, as well as their hopes, concerns, and needs for a future where AI’s influence is likely to only be more prevalent and pervasive.
Our research is grounded in results from a survey of more than 200 journalists in more than 70 countries around the world in Q4 2024. These respondents, alumni of TRF’s training programmes, shine a much-needed spotlight on the experience of journalism in the Global South, offering a timely snapshot of this rapidly evolving landscape.
Main findings
1. AI adoption is widespread
- Over 80% of survey respondents reported using AI tools in their journalistic work, with nearly half integrating these tools into their daily workflows, and nearly a further third using AI on a weekly basis.
- Journalists are using AI tools for a diverse range of tasks, including drafting and editing content, research, transcription, translation, fact-checking, and idea generation, potentially helping journalists save time, reach new audiences, and work more efficiently. ChatGPT is the most widely used tool.
2. There are significant barriers to AI take-up
- Despite a high level of adoption among our survey sample, only 13% of participants reported having an official AI policy in their workplace. Nearly eight out of ten (79.1%) respondents noted the absence of any clear company policy.
- Similarly, nearly half (47.6%) of our respondents told us that their employers are neutral about AI integration. Around a quarter (22.6%) said their company actively encourages it, with similar numbers (24.5%) being cautiously supportive. Only a small number (5.3%) of our sample noted that their company had banned or opposed the use of AI.
3. Users of AI in the Global South face unique challenges
- Many leading AI models are primarily trained on English-language data from Western sources. This potentially risks creating an inherent bias in these systems, alongside exacerbating existing digital divides.
- Nearly one in five respondents (18.3%) said they do not use AI. Among this cohort, lack of awareness and knowledge (55.3%) as well as insufficient training and support (52.6%) were the most cited barriers to usage. Lack of access (47.4%) and concerns about accuracy (45.0%) were also highlighted. Even among AI users, there appears to be a paucity of training, with the majority of those who use AI being self-taught (57.6%).
4. In some newsrooms, AI is already having a transformative impact
- More than half of our sample (52.4%) said that AI had impacted their work in the past 18 months to either a “great extent” (12.4%) or a “large extent” (40%). Another third was more ambivalent, saying that it had “somewhat” of an impact (25.3%) or that it was too early to tell (9.4%).
- That said, there are clear worries about long-term negative concerns, including AI’s impact on creativity and original reporting (54.3%), the erosion of critical thinking skills (51.4%) and the risk of increased misinformation (49%).
5. Journalists are divided about the future of AI technologies
- A sizeable portion of survey participants (53.4%) expressed a high level of ethical worries about AI and its impact on the journalism industry, even though more than eight in ten are using AI technologies. Fewer than one in ten told us they were either “not concerned” (5.8%) or did not have a view on the matter at this time (2.4%).
- As the adoption and use of this technology inevitably grows, survey participants expressed a desire for the creation of ethical guidelines, AI training, and regulatory frameworks designed specifically for the journalism industry.
As a result of these findings, this report concludes with recommendations, offering actionable next steps for journalists, newsrooms, policymakers, platforms and funders. These proposals, based on survey insights and our own detailed analysis, highlight the tools, frameworks, and training needed if AI’s transformative potential is to be realised across the journalism industry in the Global South.
Our research shows that journalists are cautiously optimistic about AI. However, they are wary about it being overused and worry about the human factor in reporting being diminished. Nevertheless, if adopted carefully and strategically, our survey suggests that journalists in the Global South believe AI can be a catalyst for strengthening and improving journalism, rather than it being a source of undue harm and disruption.
[1] In this report, we have used the terms “Global South” and “emerging economies” to refer to developing countries and regions, primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and parts of Eastern Europe. Many of these nations are seeing rapid economic growth, but may still face challenges in areas such as infrastructure and household incomes. We have used these terms to contrast with the more economically developed economies often referred to as the “Global North” or “Western Economies.” There is no standard definition agreed, although we note that the IMF uses the term “Emerging Market and Developing Economies,” and contrasts this with “Advanced Economies.”
About the Author
Damian Radcliffe is a journalist, researcher, and professor based at the University of Oregon. He holds the Chambers Chair in Journalism and is a Professor of Practice, an affiliate faculty member of the Department for Middle East and North Africa Studies (MENA) and the Agora Journalism Center, and a Research Associate of the Center for Science Communication Research (SCR).
He is an expert on digital trends, social media, technology, the business of media, the evolution of present-day journalistic practice, and the role played by media and technology in the Middle East.
Working closely with the team at the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF), Damian was the author of this new TRF Insights report.
