Artificial intelligence journalism from the perspective of media professionals and a qualitative analysis on practices in Turkey

Computer technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) are driving profound changes in nearly every discipline and field of research. The media industry has also been significantly impacted by the transformative wave brought about by AI. Since the 2010s, AI tools have become an essential part of the news production process. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the use of AI in journalism in Türkiye from the perspective of media professionals. Using a qualitative research design, the opinions of media professionals on AI applications in journalism in Türkiye were analyzed through semi-structured interviews. Some findings from the research include the following: A lack of trust in AI was observed among journalists working in traditional media. Participants expressed concerns that the automatic production of news by AI could undermine originality, reduce the quality of news content, and lead to violations of media ethics. While participants indicated that integrating AI into news production processes might result in employment issues, they emphasized that journalism as a profession would never cease to exist and that reporting would always remain vital. It was also predicted that the integration of AI would lead to the emergence of new roles such as prompt editors, AI editors, AI supervisors, AI managers, and AI gatekeepers. A significant number of participants highlighted the importance of incorporating AI tool training into communication faculties.