Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Media organizations face increasing pressure to implement artificial intelligence (AI) while preserving journalistic integrity. Finland’s journalism sector, distinguished by robust public trust and established professional standards, has approached AI adoption cautiously. While research exists on AI in journalism broadly, there remains a gap in understanding how these technologies change daily workflows and organizational dynamics during implementation. This study examines AI’s impact on journalist workflows through qualitative research. Participants included 18 professionals from Finnish media organizations, representing roles in editorial production, editorial leadership, and technical development. The findings show workflow transformations across core news production stages, using Spyridou and Veglis’s (2016) information processing framework: information acquisition, validation, processing, presentation, and curation. The analysis reveals an efficiency paradox where the benefits of time saved through AI automation become counterbalanced by additional verification demands, learning burdens, and possible degradation of skill development processes. Technical teams emphasize efficiency and innovation while journalists prioritize professional judgment and traditional values, generating implementation barriers strengthened by organizational silos where editorial and technical staff function with limited collaboration. The study contributes a workflow-centered approach to understanding AI implementation in journalism that considers both technological capabilities and organizational dynamics. The findings suggest that effective AI integration involves creating environments for meaningful cross-functional collaboration throughout development instead of during periodic input sessions. This research shows that journalists’ cautious approach to AI, often characterized as resistance to innovation, stems from deeper organizational dynamics and professional identity concerns. Understanding these dynamics is necessary for responsible AI implementation that serves both organizational efficiency and journalism’s democratic accountability function.
Source: Aaltodoc (Aalto University)
Author: Fischer, Tomi
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7076976133