AI & Journalism Transformation or replacement?

Liliana Nicoleta Barbuata, Nisrine Salameh, Camille Tilleul, Larysa Nazarenko (PhD student Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, GR), Vera Zarvakaki, David Sobrino Platas

Concept

Help journalists to adopt AI in an ethical way: 

  • Use AI to Assist  Not Replace Journalism
  • AI is a productivity tool, not a reporter.
  • Use it for summarizing long documents, organizing notes, generating headline variations, or drafting outlines.
  • Do not treat AI like a source. Always treat its output as unverified.

Priority

Priority 1: Reflecting on AI’s Positive and Negative Roles in Media Production

Objectives

To skill journalists with existing AI tools by facilitating experience sharing. To increase journalists ‘awareness of both the threats and opportunities that AI presents for their work. To campaign through memes to protect journalists rights in the context of AI.

Target group

20 journalists (web, press, TV, radio), Users of AI.

Modalities : steps and instructions

 Workshop Outline: AI & Journalism  Opportunities, Threats, and Strategies

Icebreaker: Roundtable of Presentations (10 mins)

Objective: Introduce participants, set context, and share initial experiences with AI in journalism.

  • Each participant or team briefly presents a project or experience (2 min per participant).
  • Example: “Organising documents with ChatGPT.”
  • Highlight goals, workshop expectations, and 5 phases of the workshop.

 Tools/Materials: Slides or visual board for notes.

Activity 1: Sharing Experiences (25 mins)

Objective: Exchange practical knowledge about AI tools and uses in journalism.

  • Participants (journalists) present previous written content created with AI tools.
  • Showcase 4–5 practical examples.
  • Collect tools and practices in a shared drive for future reference.

Example Topics:

  • Organising documents with ChatGPT.
  • Automated fact-checking tools.
  • AI-assisted content drafting.

Activity 2: AI Challenges & Opportunities (20–25 mins)

Objective: Identify perceived opportunities and threats of AI in journalism.

  • Each participant receives post-its.
  • Write down threats and opportunities they see in AI use.
  • Stick each post-it under the relevant column on a wall or board.

Activity 3: Reflection on AI Threats to Journalism (30 mins)

Objective: Deepen understanding of AI’s impact on journalism ethics, regulations, and employment.

  • Participants categorize previous threats into three fields:

1. Ethics / Critical Thinking – e.g., misinformation, bias, erosion of journalistic standards.

2. Laws / Regulation – e.g., copyright, AI-generated content liability.

3. Employment / Job Protection – e.g., displacement, changing skill requirements.

  • Group discussion to analyze and prioritize concerns.

Tools/Materials: Large chart or board with three columns, markers, post-its.

Activity 4: Campaign Through Memes (40–45 mins)

Objective: Encourage creative advocacy and critical thinking through humor and visual storytelling.

Participants create memes highlighting:

  • Defense of journalism jobs in the AI era.
  • Promotion of critical thinking.
  • Reminder of journalists’ ethical responsibilities.
  • Negotiation leverage with employers to protect jobs.
  • Awareness of the European Media Freedom Act (independence, transparency, source protection).

Share and discuss memes in small groups or plenary.

Tools/Materials: Canva, meme generators, markers, laptops.

Activity 5: Dissemination & Campaign (20–30 mins)

Objective: Extend the workshop’s impact internationally.

  • Launch an international AI awareness campaign for IFJ members (600,000 members).

Key actions:

  • Free publication of the training module on IFJ and Tadam websites.
  • Online training and webinars for journalists and union leaders.
  • Bi-monthly updates of new AI tools.
  • Partnerships with media stakeholders, universities (Pantheon University, Athens), media educators (National Audiovisual Council of Romania), and unions (Athens Daily Newspapers).
  • Discussion: How participants can contribute locally and internationally.

Material and resources

IFJ Chart of Ethics

IFJ Recommendations on the use of AI in the newsroom