Experts at MuckRack, a database for journalists, have revealed that 28 percent of journalists now use Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI).
They disclosed this in a report that detailed how journalists use GenAI and social media tools. The report titled ‘State of Journalism 2024’ surveyed journalists from Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Oceania, and the United Kingdom.
The firm noted that mainstream media has not started to use GenAI platforms like Chat GPT, Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot.
“28 percent currently use generative AI, with 20 percent planning to explore its uses. While 21 percent of these users do not use it at all, 31 percent do not even have intentions to explore generative AI,” it said.
It also highlighted that journalists who were using or had plans to use it did so for behind-the-scenes tasks.
“Of the journalists already using or planning to explore the technology, most want to use it for tasks like brainstorming and research assistance. Writing any public-facing copy is a less popular use case. The other category includes many ideas like proofreading copy, transcribing meetings, and helping with data analysis,” MuckRack stated.
MuckRack further established that social media was and still is an essential part of the media. “Social media is crucial, with 70 percent valuing it for promotion. More than half of journalists say social media is either important or very important to produce their stories,” it declared.
X was ranked as the most used social media platform, with 36 percent of all journalists owning and operating a Twitter account, while 44 percent plan to use LinkedIn more in the coming year.
According to reports, about 25 percent of internet content may be created by AI in the next few years. Already, the world’s leading publications are rolling out their intelligent systems. Bloomberg has Cyborg, The Washington Post has Heliograph, Forbes has Bertie, and The Globe and Mail are assisted by Sophi.
According to the WAN-IFRA report ‘Gauging Generative AI’s impact on newsrooms,’ 49 percent of newsrooms already use GenAI tools, and 67 percent use AI to some extent, according to the Reuters Institute.
