Center for News, Technology & Innovation (CNTI) released two reports detailing international surveys conducted in Fall 2024. What the Public Wants from Journalism in the Age of AI: A Four Country Survey gathers insights from over 4,000 people in Australia, Brazil, South Africa and the United States about who should be able to produce journalism, how they access the information sources they rely on and their attitudes toward journalists using technologies like AI in their work. The second report, What It Means to Do Journalism in the Age of AI: Journalist Views on Safety, Technology and Government, conducted with multiple journalism networks and member organisations, presents findings from journalists around the world, examining their views on the state of journalism, use and perception of technology, perspective on government action and experiences with cyber-attacks and online abuse.
Read full reports here:
Source: https://innovating.news/2024-journalist-survey/
Key Findings
- 76%+ in all countries surveyed say “news organisations that employ reporters are a critical part of an informed society“. Meanwhile, 51% of journalists say the public cannot tell the difference between journalism and other kinds of news and information online — and almost as many (45%) say the field is not doing a good job communicating its value. U.S. journalists don’t think the public can identify what journalism is — or what it isn’t.
- About one in four U.S. journalists (24%) think the public can distinguish journalism from other kinds of news and information. Meanwhile, about half of Mexican journalists (48%) think the public can make a distinction, as do 70% of Nigerian journalists.
- 50% of journalists surveyed say they have experienced government overreach in the past year, ranging from complaints about content to arrest or detention.
- Journalists believe technology is improving their work, but they are hesitant about AI: Two-thirds say that technology in general — and social media in particular — are having a positive effect on their work, although only one-third say the same about AI’s effect on the information landscape. Journalists in the Global South are more positive overall.
- When it comes to journalistic safety, slightly more than a third of journalists (37%) say they face serious risks at least somewhat often, with 31% who say their sources do. At the same time, only about half as many, 15%, primarily communicate with sources using encrypted apps.
These survey reports are a part of CNTI’s Defining News Initiative which explores the evolving news ecosystem and the role technology plays in it. Later this month, CNTI will release a third report in this series, that details the American public who get news from influencers and content creators. Additional exciting reports are currently in the works.
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