JOURNAL

Rationalisation of the news – How AI reshapes and retools the gatekeeping processes of news organisations in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany

Felix M. Simon | New Media & Society

This paper surveys the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the newsroom, along with the ways in which it has re-shaped journalistic practices. Through interviews with publishers based in the United States, UK and Germany, the authors found that AI is increasingly being used to automate basic tasks such as summarization, verification and transcription. This technology is also being used on the business side of newspapers, allowing companies to streamline audience analytics, targeted content and distribution of stories. The study reflects that while it doesn’t fundamentally change journalism, AI systems reshape the news environment, giving greater power to large tech companies such as Google or OpenAI as they control the infrastructure that powers newsrooms. While AI pushes organizations to more efficient practices, it also requires more transparency to avoid allegations of bias or inaccuracies at the hands of automated systems.