News corporations begin to integrate AI into their websites  

The Suncoast Searchlight is a nonprofit news publication based in Sarasota, FL. A relatively small business sporting only 4 reporters at the time, the searchlight would soon become a talking point when the reporters accused their editor-in-chief, Emily Le Coz, of using generative AI tools in her editing process. The next day, one of the reporters who cosigned the accusatory letter, McKenna Oxenden, was fired due to “Performance issues,” something she claimed was never an issue before. An article detailing the further story was published by Nieman Lab 

This is not an isolated issue. Several major newsrooms, such as the New York Times, Quartz, and the AP, are all using AI tools for various tasks, with Quartz even going so far as to publish completely AI-written articles. Recently, even the Washington Post has been dipping their toes into this new tool, having recently debuted an “AI podcast” function on their website Aimed at transcribing articles into audio form personalized to the user.  

But what do journalists think about this shift that’s beginning? A report by cision.com shows that around 53% of journalists use AI in some capacity, with 14% planning to use tools in the future, and 33% with no plans to do so. Thom Greenwood, a fellow reporter for 8forty, gave his opinion in an interview. “I think that using AI to get ideas is fine,” said Greenwood, “but completely AI-generating an article isn’t.” 

Readers seemingly aren’t chuffed about it either. A report by Ku news shows that news readers, no matter what their level of information on what type is being used, trust articles made with AI less than completely human-made articles. Apparently, most subjects said they cared more about how little human input would go into these articles, rather than whether AI wrote it.  

As the 2020s progress, AI has begun to have a more significant grip on many industries. In music, an AI-generated singer named “Xania Monet” has more than a million monthly listeners. In gaming, Expedition 33, the winner of game of the year 2025, had their game award rescinded due to AI use.  

And now, with these reports, it seems not even journalism is safe. 

image credit: Washington Post