menu
Weekly Online Magazine
ISSN 2544-5839
zamknij
MediaHisttory Podcast image

9.06.2025 Media industry

Artificial intelligence in newsrooms. Three realities of the AI era in media

Krzysztof Fiedorek

According to a report by the European Broadcasting Union, many newsrooms already use AI but still do not fully trust it. Audiences do not want "robotic" news, and the technologies themselves though fast can be costly, unreliable, and surprisingly human in their mistakes.
Poczytaj artykuł wydanie polskie w wydaniu polskim

Artificial intelligence in newsrooms. Three realities of the AI era in mediaillustration: DALL-E

In European newsrooms that not long ago were skeptical about automation, artificial intelligence is now firmly established. But as shown in the report "Leading Newsrooms in the Age of Generative AI", published by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), not everything intelligent brings true value to newsrooms.

Newsrooms use AI but still do not fully trust it


Everyday journalistic tasks are increasingly supported by generative AI. Newsrooms use it for translations, transcriptions, video subtitles, or content personalization. The speed and quality of these tasks have improved significantly. BBC uses AI to create local football match reports based on radio commentary. Swedish SR offers chatbots that answer user questions using only its own verified materials.

While the technology performs well in back-end tasks, concerns remain when it comes to direct audience contact. "We are better with language subtleties than before, but we still do not trust AI when it comes to political news or investigative content" says one manager quoted in the report.

List of areas where newsrooms most often use AI:

  • translations and transcriptions (e.g., Finnish Yle restored its Russian-language service)
  • automated video subtitles (Radio France works with deaf associations)
  • local content personalization (Bayerischer Rundfunk lets users tailor news to their region)
  • comment moderation and "discussion summaries" (BR tool)

Newsrooms stress that the "human factor" remains essential. Without journalists, generated content often loses context or contains errors.

No strategy no results AI is not a cheap shortcut


AI experiments require significant time, staff, and financial resources. While large newsrooms can afford in-house AI labs and negotiate with tech providers, smaller ones must rely on off-the-shelf solutions. Meanwhile, even the largest institutions have not seen savings yet. As Anne Lagercrantz, Director General of Swedish SVT, puts it "We have improved efficiency, but not reduced costs. For now, everything is more expensive".

Area Measured regularly?
Time saved by AI No
Journalistic quality Rarely
Impact on audience engagement Occasionally
Implementation and maintenance cost No regular indicators


Source: EBU News Report 2025

Most newsrooms do not conduct full cost-benefit analysis of AI deployment. There is also a lack of unified success metrics. Making investment decisions based only on enthusiasm or tech pressure often leads to disappointment.

Experts advise holding off on costly implementations if the technology does not offer a clear advantage. Edmundo Ortega, AI strategy expert, emphasizes "If you cannot point to real value a feature brings to your organization, wait. Something better and cheaper is just around the corner".

The audience does not want to know it is AI they want better journalism


Another challenge is how users perceive AI. Opinions are divided. While audiences accept AI in technical tasks like subtitles or translations, they do not want it replacing journalists in political coverage or local news. Many respondents also expressed fear that automation will lead to layoffs and weaken the media`s watchdog role.

Sample user reactions to content labeled as "generated by AI":

  • "If AI did this, why do we need reporters?"
  • "I don`t care what you use I want reliable information"
  • "Journalism is not just information it is also empathy and responsibility"

Labeling content as AI-assisted often creates distrust, and sometimes anger. Yle stopped using such labels after negative reader reactions. Many newsrooms now choose a selective approach informing about AI use only when it may mislead the audience such as in the case of generated images or cloned voices.

That does not mean AI is losing relevance. Quite the opposite. As Minna Mustakallio from Yle emphasizes "People are not interested in AI. They care whether they are getting better journalism. And that is where we should focus".

* * *

The report "Leading Newsrooms in the Age of Generative AI" is based on a series of in-depth interviews with newsroom leaders across Europe. It was prepared by Alexandra Borchardt a media innovation expert affiliated with the Reuters Institute in Oxford, in collaboration with Olle Zachrison, Director of AI at Sveriges Radio, and Kati Bremme, Head of Innovation at France Télévisions. The authors were supported by Belén López and Yolène Johanny. The full material is available on the European Broadcasting Union website.

Share the article:

dodaj na Facebook prześlij przez Messenger dodaj na Twitter dodaj na LinkedIn

COMMERCIAL BREAK
Work In Media

New articles in section Media industry

Zero-click search 2025. The even bigger end of clicking in search engines

Bartłomiej Dwornik
Google is giving up its role as a web signpost. More and more, it wants to be the destination of the whole journey. ChatGPT and Perplexity are hot on its heels, changing the rules of the search game. AI Overviews is a card from the same deck. Only content creators are losing ground in this race.

How do we assess news credibility? Data analysis from 40 countries

Krzysztof Fiedorek
Are people defenseless against false information? Do they really fall for clickbait and fake news? A meta-analysis of 67 studies involving 200,000 people shows the problem is different than we thought. Instead of excessive gullibility, we are dealing with the opposite.

Greenwashing storms media in Poland. Business feel the impact too

BDw
A surge in media coverage reveals a new reality: ESG isn't just a corporate responsibility buzzword anymore - it's a battlefield. According to the Institute of Media Monitoring (IMM), Polish media mentioned "greenwashing" in 619 publications and "eco-hypocrisy" in another 545 in Q1 2025.


See articles on a similar topic:

Hate speech is contagious and leads to harm [EXPERT OPINION]

Karolina Kropiwiec
‘If we are in an environment where certain groups of people are insulted, there is a high probability that we will start using such language ourselves; hate speech is contagious and its consequence is someone's harm,’ says Dr. Michał Bilewicz from the Centre for Research on Prejudice at the University of Warsaw.

Fake News in Poland. Challenges in Assessing Information Credibility

RINF
One in four information consumers relies on sources where verifying credibility is a significant challenge. Fake news remains a major issue, as indicated by 77% of respondents, with 51% admitting they struggle to discern truth from falsehood, according to Deloitte's *Digital Consumer Trends 2021* report.

Russian Propaganda. Debunk.org Report on Moscow's Disinformation Scale

BARD, PAP Mediaroom
In 2022, the Russian Federation allocated approximately 143 billion rubles to mass media (equivalent to 1.9 billion US dollars), exceeding the planned budget by 25%. For the current year, the Kremlin's budget for this sector is set at 119.2 billion rubles (1.6 billion dollars).

Radio Fanatics. Who Listens for One-Third of the Day?

Bartłomiej Dwornik
One in five listeners now spends over 8 hours daily listening to the radio, according to data from the Radio Track study. Since the beginning of the year, the number of these avid listeners has grown by 300,000.

More in the section: Media industry

community

Facebook LinkedIn X Twitter TikTok Instagram Threads Youtube Google News Blue Sky Social RSS

Reporterzy.info - online media studies magazine. The world of communication from the inside. Media, journalism, PR and marketing. Data, reports, analyses, advice. History and market, law, photography, job offers.


Work in media

United States
New York • Washington DC • Los Angeles • Chicago • Houston • Phoenix • Philadelphia United Kingdom
London • Birmingham • Manchester • Liverpool • Glasgow • Edinburgh Canada
Toronto • Ottawa • Montreal • Calgary Australia
Sydney • Melbourne • Brisbane • canberra Ireland, New Zealand, India

advertisement

Drones. For PRO. On discount





Reporter shopping

Reporter shopping

Affordable laptops, notebooks and netbooks
Affordable laptops, notebooks and netbooks
for writing
Digital SLR and compact cameras
Digital SLR and compact cameras
for photographers
Books and e-books about media
Books and e-books about media
for reading
Video drones and flying cameras
Video drones and flying cameras
for pilots
Gimbals for stabilizing video
Gimbals for stabilizing video
for those on the move
Software and apps for creative work
Software and apps for creative work
for digital creators
More occasions

follow us 👉 on Youtube
Watch more 👇
#4Lines 4 a Good(?) Morning SHORTS
Read books and e-books

Read books and e-books

Okładka Media Control. The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda
Media Control. The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda
Okładka The 40-Day Social Media Fast
The 40-Day Social Media Fast
Okładka Social Media Marketing All-in-One For Dummies
Social Media Marketing All-in-One For Dummies
Okładka Mass Communication: Living in a Media World
Mass Communication: Living in a Media World
Okładka Beyond The Feed: A Social Media Success Formula
Beyond The Feed: A Social Media Success Formula
Okładka Trust Me, I`m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator
Trust Me, I`m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator
more books and e-books

Reporterzy.info

More about us

Our tools and services

Contact


© Dwornik.pl Bartłomiej Dwornik 2oo1-2o25