Artificial Intelligence concerns and continued tremors in global politics and the economy notwithstanding, nearly half or 47 percent of the over 300 news leaders in 56 countries, including the Philippines, responding to a Reuters survey on media trends said they feel confident about prospects for journalism in 2024, vis-à-vis 12 percent who gave a negative response, and 41 percent who couldn’t make up their minds.

Results of the survey conducted in 2023 are the bases for the 2024 journalism, media, and tech trends and predictions report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ). Overall, the report said, “The mood in (the) responses showed strong belief in the value of journalism, but the respondents also expressed great uncertainty about the year ahead, fueled by the knowledge that another wave of technical disruption is on the way.”

In its report, the RISJ predicted that “the disruptive power of artificial intelligence will sweep through the information space this year,” even as the world will see the intensification of political and economic volatility worldwide.

The need for information reliability and mainstream media sustainability is urgent as the electorate in 40 countries, including the US, the UK, Taiwan, and India, cast votes in critical elections within the year. This, despite unabated tension in Israel and Ukraine.

It should be pointed out that there is a major concern among media companies wanting to sustain interest in the Gaza war or Russia’s persistence in conquering Ukraine, among other “difficult” articles, about readers getting news fatigue and resorting to selective news avoidance. “Doomsday” stories on climate change are another possible source of news fatigue.

Some publishers are responding through “solutions” journalism, not by turning away from difficult topics, but by addressing these with deeper, clearer explanations, and with “newsrooms upping their specialist coverage of green tech, or creating eco-tips and inspiration for greener living.”

Meanwhile, several publishers surveyed were interested in licensing agreements with AI platforms but were not optimistic that monetary benefits would be shared equally.

“A third of respondents believed most of the money (from AI licensing deals) would go to big publishers,” while 48 percent feel that, ultimately, “there would be very little money for any publisher.”

Fifty-six percent of respondents see the importance of AI in back-end news automation (payroll, administration), while many publishers also said they have mixed feelings about using AI in creating news content.

Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they were concerned about the decline in news traffic from social media sites (Facebook, X/Twitter).

Most, or 77 percent, of respondents plan to establish their own direct channels, with publishers aiming to utilize WhatsApp and Instagram, where Meta will expand broadcast channels.

Majority of publishers also intend to create more video content and podcasts to maintain news output while focusing on areas with potential audience and advertiser growth.

They also said they would continue to focus on subscriptions, with 80 percent of total respondents believing these will remain a key revenue stream over “native” advertising this year.

Meanwhile, Reuters predicts that AI bots will gain more traction with up-to-date news and sports as important use cases; many of these bots will be personality or reporter-driven as cloning technology improves, even as many legal and ethical questions arise.

With elections to be conducted in many countries, including the UK, the US, India, and Taiwan this year, there is much concern about the probability of AI being used to create misinformation and fake news.

Noted the report: “The Israel/Gaza conflict showed countless examples of fake images used by supporters of both sides for propaganda purposes.”

Among those used for such purposes are tools like Midjourney, which can conjure hyper-realistic images of any situation that are hard to distinguish from real-life photographs.

Indeed, the news industry — whether in news gathering or publication — should brace for consequential truth-shaping and even life-changing challenges in the year ahead.