Publication Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Guzman, Andrea L.

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Communication

Abstract

Technological advancements have always influenced how news is sourced, produced, and disseminated. The emergence of AI technology fundamentally repositions human journalists, requiring them to work with non-human agents. Typically, the Global North leads in adopting such technologies, resulting in unequal technological diffusion and research between the Global North and South. This research thus takes a less-traveled path within a portion of the global south to understand journalists’ views of Artificial Intelligence in Nigerian newsrooms and how geographical and cultural factors influence AI usage. Grounded in the human-machine communication framework, semi-structured interviews with 18 Nigerian journalists revealed a double-edged view of AI: it enhances creativity and efficiency. Still, it could lead to intellectual dormancy due to a lack of journalistic values. Also, opinions vary on geographic influences, but many journalists feel AI technologies lack the linguistic and cultural nuances that speak to the reality of Nigerian news space and thus do not threaten their jobs. The study recommends that Nigerian journalists must use AI cautiously without trading journalistic values on the altar of automation or efficiency. It calls for government-supported skill acquisition programs and opportunities to help journalists develop technologies and systems that cater to their needs.

Extent

87 pages

Language

en

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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Communication Commons

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