Almost eight in ten (79%) of Australian journalists are concerned about the impact that generative AI could have on the overall integrity or quality of journalism, Medianet’s latest Media Landscape Report finds.
Based on a survey of more than 800 Australian journalists, the report revealed that while most journalists (74%) had not yet personally used generative AI in their work and 19% were not aware of how AI is being used in their newsrooms, 67% of respondents believed that generative AI could potentially replace aspects of their jobs.
Some (12%) claimed to know someone who has lost work or lost work themselves due to the uptake of generative AI in 2023.
Medianet MD, Amrita Sidhu, says that the heightened fear from journalists could stem from the lack of awareness about how AI is being used in newsrooms and its potential impact on journalistic integrity.
"The introduction of generative AI has sparked concerns among journalists, but it's essential to bridge the gap between concerns and real-world impact," Sidhu says.
“While the figure is quite small, it is concerning that some journalists had already lost work despite the relatively low uptake of AI in the media so far.”
The report also shows there was a significant drop in professional Twitter/X usage in 2023 from journalists, with the platform dropping from being the second most used social media platform for journalists in 2022 to being the fourth most-used platform, after Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. 58% percent of respondents said they used Twitter/X in 2023, down from 69% in 2022.
Medianet, a division of Mediality, is a media intelligence business servicing both the media and public relations industries.
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