An exploration of artificial intelligence in Jordanian newsroom : A study on Al-Mamlaka TV

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of numerous technological changes affecting newsrooms and journalism as an industry. Technological advancements in AI pose many challenges and changes within newsrooms, while at the same time offer features that journalists can benefit from. This study aims to examine the adoption of AI in newsrooms, focusing on the challenges, benefits, and effects journalists encounter in their adoption. Based on the Diffusion of Innovations Theory which guides the theoretical framework for this study, a qualitative approach was adopted. It focuses on Al-Mamlaka TV in Jordan. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 journalists working in the newsroom at the headquarters of Al-Mamlaka TV, in the capital of Jordan, Amman. The participants in the study were selected from various positions in the newsroom using snowball sampling. The results present five main challenges facing journalists: the lack of knowledge and training, language barriers, lack of trust and credibility, variations of limited capabilities, and ethical challenges. In addition, the study identified four main benefits journalists gain from using AI techniques in newsrooms: improvement of work efficiency, reduction of journalistic tasks and time duration, enhancement of technological skills of journalists, and awareness of audience preferences. Finally, the results present five themes that are affected by the news process due to the use of AI: the methods used for news gathering, news verification, increase of reliance on AI-generated content, summarization of long texts and big data, and audience characteristics. The study provides journalists with more awareness of the benefits that AI can achieve in newsrooms. It helps journalists understand how AI applications affect the news process. Additionally, the results of this study provided a theoretical contribution by understanding the stages of adopting AI from the perspective of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory