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My greatest passion and goal is to be a journalist, but AI makes me unsure about how sustainable writing-heavy careers are. What would you say to someone with that concern”?

I feel like there's so much being said right now about how journalism is a dying field, and this has only gotten worse recently with AI usage. From your perspective, what is something that I should ready to adapt to in the field of journalism? Also, do you think that the writing side of journalism will soon be completely replaced by automation or artificial intelligence?

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Karin’s Answer

Hi Ellia,

It's great that you are interested in a career in journalism. The profession will certainly change with the use of AI. It has changed in the past with the transition from traditional paper journalism to online formats. But there is a lot more to journalism than just writing.

Writing skills are certainly important for a journalist, but your real skill is in identifying stories that are important and need to be told, researching the topic, finding original sources, interviewing people, and commenting and interpreting the information. AI is not going to do that. AI can be a valuable tool for journalists. But your curiosity, your research skills, your people skills, your critical thinking skills, your domain knowledge in your specialty and your individual voice are your own unique qualities that you bring to the table.

Traditionally, journalists would work for a paper or later in television. Today the landscape is much broader. Journalists still work for papers and television stations albeit in smaller numbers. Independent journalists today also have YouTube channels, run their own news website and have a presence on Twitter, BlueSky, or Substack among others. With these options comes more uncertainty but also more freedom and independence. Multimedia skills have become an important part of the skill set.

Last but not least, you need domain knowledge in your specialty. Maybe you want to report on politics. Maybe you want to be a science reporter. Maybe you want to be a sports reporter. Maybe you want to report on legal cases. Maybe you want to be an investigative reporter. AI can help you do some basic research on a topic. But it will be your own deep knowledge and critical thinking that enables you to comment and interpret to make a difference.

I hope this helps! All the best to you!

KP
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Maria’s Answer

Ellia!

Hang on, doll. There's a LOT more to journalism than writing. A LOT. (Did I mention a lot?) Ideally, journalists dig into current events to report on what's happening or what has happened. They gather facts, evidence, interviews, and perspectives.

AI does not do this. Not in a million years.

Will journalists or anyone else use generative AI to write things? Sure. And it's garbage. The skills you need to be an amazing journalist start with investigation and information gathering. For example:

Generative AI isn't going to interview that mother whose son was killed by the mass shooter.
Generative AI isn't going to dig through thousands of paper judicial records in a warehouse to find out if there were jury irregularities on a case back in 1991 (see what the journalists did for In the Dark podcast series about Curtis Flowers, the man who was tried NINE times for the same crime).
Generative AI isn't going to talk to politicians, analyze policies (both spoken and written), and produce information that people care about.

Do you read the news? Listen to podcasts? Anything that quality journalists produce? Because I'm telling you AI has nothing to do with their journalism skills. That skillset can't be touched by AI. I've worked in tech my entire life and I'm also a professional writer. I urge you to check out some of the universities that offer leading journalism programs and see what they're teaching.

If you love this stuff, don't let tech bros fool you into thinking they're going to do the thinking for you. You might just be the person who breaks one of the biggest news stories of our time. And it won't be because AI did a single thing for you.
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Christopher’s Answer

This is a great question and observation. The power of human observatioin and ability to breakdown complex social, socioeconomic, political and technological issues is something that I do not think will ever be something AI can compete with. Defining your voice through journalism, maintaining integrity and connecting multiple factors together to explain an issue is a definitively human concept. An example of this - today in the news Anthropic made a statement suggesting that they may slow down development of some self improving models - an AI would never makes this decision or even have this thought. This concept comes from a place of concern of the global environment and the ability for humans to use and abuse powerful tools. Always stay curious and be mindful of tools and technologies out there. But the growth of AI, misinformation and data (even false data) is on a meteroic rise and diligent journalists are one of the first lines of defense against it. So my direct advice is learn as much as you can about the AI tools like how they work, gain confidence and source information so that you can discern for the average person what is correct and human! Good luck and I truly believe journalism needs more humans.
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Josie’s Answer

Hi Ellia! This is a great question. I am so glad you have found something you are passionate about. The need for content, reporting, and engaging storytelling will never go away. Rather, how we go about it may shift. I'd encourage you to think about how AI can be a tool rather than a replacement. Perhaps it's helping you as an editor, or brainstorming partner, but the core need of ideation and connecting dots will remain important. There may be a world where AI does the heavy lifting of first drafts, but quality outputs will always need a human's review. I would encourage you to continue to build on the basics of good writing and continue to read a variety of mediums to keep those skills sharp. I think AI for writing is like Excel for data analysis. It can be a tool to help with efficiency, but someone using Excel to run mathematic formulas still needs to know enough math to know if the outputs are accurate or inaccurate (or in the case of writing, good quality writing!).
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Barbara’s Answer

The kinds of writing that will be placed by AI will be routine writing like press releases, promotional writing, social media posts, not journalism.
The best advice is to start writing early and often. Find something you can specialize in and become an expert, and get to know everyone in that field
Most important, build as many relationships as you can. St
arting now. The only job I ever found by job hunting was my first.
Best of luck!
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Joseph’s Answer

From someone entirely outside of journalism, but who reads news, my thoughts are that journalism doesn't need more writers - it's already in a sad downward spiral of writer quantity over quality - what it really needs is more journalists that focus on quality. I don't mind if the base content was originally AI-written, but it needs more - and more thorough - human editorial oversight and fact checking. What we need are people making sure what it says is correct (and actually newsworthy) - and ideally also humanising the language to soften the AI "tells" and make it sound distinct and genuine rather than the same thing EVERYONE ELSE is generating.

Of course, that situation has come from market forces - in the world of online clicks and short-attention clickbait media, it's hard to justify a media outlet spending lots of resource on quality when the competitors run much cheaper operations that spam out fast paced low quality content to grab all the advertising money, and it's hard to see that sad situation changing too much.
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Savita’s Answer

You're asking a great question, and you're definitely not the only one curious about this. Many students are thinking about it too.

AI is changing journalism, but it won't take away what makes journalism special. It can assist with research, summarizing, editing, and even drafting, but it can't replace human judgment, creativity, or the skill of asking important questions. That's where journalists truly shine.

Writing in journalism isn't going away; it's just changing. While AI might handle routine tasks, storytelling, investigative work, opinion writing, and detailed analysis will still need human insight and perspective. Those who mix strong writing with adaptability and curiosity will continue to succeed.

If you love journalism, the key is to adapt. Focus on:
- Strong storytelling and critical thinking
- Developing your unique voice and perspective
- Expanding skills beyond writing, like multimedia, data journalism, and interviewing
- Learning to use AI as a tool to improve your work, not replace it
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Ben’s Answer

I honestly think journalism will still matter because people always want real stories, human opinions, and trustworthy reporting. AI can help with research or editing, but it cannot replace personal experiences and strong storytelling. I would recommend focusing on skills like interviews, creativity, and connecting with readers emotionally. In creative industries, human ideas still stand out, just like how a good book cover design service[/url] can make a story feel more personal and memorable instead of looking generic or automated.
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Laura’s Answer

AI is a helpful tool that can speed up some administrative tasks and give you a starting point instead of a blank page. However, it's your dedication, effort, and thoughtful work that will truly shape your articles and interviews. Stay motivated, write often, and aim for your best. You can do it!
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Sandeep’s Answer

Hey Ellia,

Journalism isn’t going away, but it is changing. AI can handle basic writing and summaries, but it can’t replace real reporting, interviews, investigation, or strong storytelling with a unique voice.

If you’re passionate about journalism, focus on skills that go beyond just writing like research, fact-checking, interviewing, and building credibility. Also, be open to using AI as a tool to support your work, not replace it. The field will favor journalists who can add depth, trust, and perspective.
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Sai Kiran’s Answer

Fear not! Original stories and your point of view will always be irreplaceable. Keep grinding and use AI as a partner to help you research, fact check and document sources. Cheers!
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Metaxia’s Answer

Forget AI. It is a construct solely based on the word ARTIFICIAL. Be yourself and keep writing. Humans are better
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