AI’s Ascent: Reshaping Journalism and Media in 2024

Artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionise journalism and media, bringing both profound challenges and unprecedented opportunities. As 2024 unfolds, the industry grapples with AI’s disruptive power, from content creation and distribution to business models and audience engagement.

The public launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 marked a turning point, making AI an urgent focus for news organisations worldwide. While initial efforts in 2023 focused on understanding AI’s capabilities, 2024 is set to see newsrooms fully integrate these technologies into their workflows.

• Efficiency-Focused Strategies: AI is being adopted for back-end automation tasks such as transcription, copyediting, headline testing, and summarisation. These applications, considered low-risk, aim to streamline existing production processes.
• Product Expansion: Generative AI enables the creation of new journalistic products, such as varied content formats (e.g., simplified language, audio versions) tailored for diverse audiences. This allows newsrooms to compete within an AI-mediated ecosystem.
• Differentiation: News organisations are exploring how AI can enhance unique offerings, including proprietary news gathering, verified content, and deeply contextualised stories, to stand out amidst a potential surge of AI-generated content.

The traditional referral model from social media platforms is in decline, prompting publishers to focus on direct audience engagement and explore new distribution channels.

• Social Media Exodus: Traffic to news sites from Facebook plummeted by 48% in 2023, and X/Twitter saw a 27% decline. This has led 77% of publishers to prioritise their own direct channels, such as websites, apps, newsletters, and podcasts.
• Emerging Platforms: Publishers are investing more effort into WhatsApp (+61 net score) and Instagram (+39) following Meta’s broadcast channel initiatives. Video networks like TikTok (+55) and YouTube (+44) also remain strong areas of focus, particularly for engaging younger audiences.
• AI-Driven Search: The integration of AI into search engines, such as Google’s Search Generative Experiences (SGE), poses a new challenge. These systems provide direct answers, potentially reducing referral traffic to news websites, raising concerns about intellectual property and compensation.

The economic pressures on journalism continue, with declining advertising revenues and the imminent phase-out of third-party cookies. Publishers are increasingly turning to subscription and membership models.

• Subscription Focus: Digital subscriptions and memberships are now considered the most important revenue stream by 80% of surveyed publishers, surpassing display advertising.
• Bundling and Pricing: Innovations include ‘all-access’ content bundles (e.g., news, games, podcasts) and differential pricing strategies based on user behaviour to maximise retention and revenue.
• AI Licensing Deals: While some publishers hope for lucrative licensing deals with AI platforms for content usage, nearly half (48%) are pessimistic about significant financial benefits for the industry as a whole.

News fatigue and selective news avoidance remain significant concerns. AI also presents challenges related to misinformation, particularly in the context of upcoming elections.

• Combating Avoidance: Strategies include better explanation of complex issues (67%), solutions-oriented reporting (44%), and inspiring human stories (43%).
• AI and Elections: The ability of AI to generate synthetic media and micro-target audiences raises concerns about the spread of false information. Regulators are pushing for content labelling and platforms are strengthening their defences.

New devices and interfaces, driven by AI, could reshape how audiences access information, moving beyond the smartphone-centric model.

• Ambient Computing: Wearable devices, smart speakers, and AI assistants are expected to become more prominent interfaces, offering voice-activated and contextual information delivery.
• Personalised Experiences: AI will enable highly personalised news experiences, with content adapted to individual preferences and consumption contexts, potentially leading to new forms of story delivery.

As the industry navigates this transformative period, the balance between embracing AI’s efficiencies and safeguarding journalistic integrity, trust, and intellectual property will be paramount.

• Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2024, reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk.
• AI and journalism: What’s next?, reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk.