The media landscape is changing at pace – and keeping up with the latest developments and moves will give every comms expert an advantage over their rivals. Every week take a look at the media business from mainstream and ‘legacy’ media to cutting edge tech and the latest trends and developments – and how you can use that know-how.
As promised, I want to carry on with our little mini-series on the positive aspects of AI in journalism and content.
And I’m helped by the publication of new research by the Reuters Institute on people’s use of and attitudes to AI – and particularly in the media.
The research is worth a read. It’s based on a survey in nine countries, including the UK, and as you would expect shows a growing use of AI in everyday life.
People who had used AI or chatbots in the last week are up from a third to over half of respondents. Those who use it daily have increased from 7% in 2024 to 28% in 2026. People are mainly using it to research topics and gather information (rather than AI agents to do a task). Interestingly, of those who relied on AI, around 75% trusted the results.
People are enthusiastic about what AI might do in science and healthcare, if a little more dubious about other parts of society, for instance the government. All well and good.
Where it gets more complex is what people think about AI in journalism and news. And interestingly, despite the uptake of AI, these views have barely changed in the last two years.
People remain uncomfortable with the use of AI in the newsroom, especially with the idea of news being made entirely or primarily with AI. Just 12% say they are very or somewhat comfortable with news made entirely by AI
People think that AI will make news less transparent and less trustworthy.
However many people are uncomfortable with news content being made with AI they are even more unhappy with AI being used for commentary or opinion.
There are lessons here for journalists and PRs. AI can do amazing things. As we discussed last week it can handle data, sort and rank information, create interesting ways to illustrate findings and keep interactive tools updated as new data comes in. LINK But what is going to remain vital is to win the backing of readers by being trustworthy and transparent. And importantly, keeping a human element in the process.
We have all seen the “AI slop” online so the skill is using the tech for the best bits while keeping the veracity of the story and I would argue the narrative writing and editorial judgement is human.
That means – for both journalists and PRs there are some key rules. Here are my top seven thoughts: