The role of artificial intelligence in news production and reporting: a Case Study of Uganda Christian University
| dc.contributor.author | Catherine Magara Alweny | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-09-05T15:10:43Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-09-05T15:10:43Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-06-05 | |
| dc.description | Undergraduate | |
| dc.description.abstract | The current study sought to investigate the use of AI tools and attitudes toward their usage in the journalism training context at Uganda Christian University. In order to gain insight into the problem, questionnaires completed by 95 students specializing in journalism were supplemented with face-to-face interviews conducted with 20 lecturers and 12 representatives of the media production team. The study focused on four important aspects: applications of artificial intelligence in newsrooms, the impact of AI technologies on journalists' efficiency and accuracy, ethical concerns raised by the use of AI software, and the influence of AI on audience involvement. The results indicate that artificial intelligence is increasingly employed in newsrooms, and 72.5% of tasks are performed with the help of AI technology. The most widespread applications include content editing/proofreading, speech-to-text transcription, and automated news writing (68.3%, 61.7%, and 42.5%). However, at present, AI technology is not fully integrated into people's daily work routine since most of the surveyed people use it infrequently or weekly. Nevertheless, the survey results show that AI has a positive effect on journalists' productivity since 69.2% of respondents’ claim it saves their time, 63.3% of journalists’ state that they have enhanced abilities to process information, and 81.7% affirm that AI assists them with managing information volumes. At the same time, ethical aspects of the application of AI in journalism raise some questions because, according to the respondents, this issue has extremely serious implications – 87.5% of respondents admit it. Specifically, they consider misinformation, algorithmic biases, and lack of transparency to be crucial problems related to ethical considerations, namely 65%, 52.5%, and 50.8% of respondents mentioned such issues. To counteract those issues, 90.8% of respondents suggest human control over AI systems to be essential and 85% claim regulation is also needed. Regarding the engagement of audiences, 70% of respondents consider the possibilities of AI usage in personalizing news content and interactive media to be the most appropriate means of achieving that goal. The study contributes immensely to the understanding of the need to equip the next generation of journalists to operate within AI-based media systems, and contributes to a body of literature that remains scant in terms of AI integration into journalism in developing countries. The research concludes that AI has great possibilities of improving journalism, but it becomes imperative to deal with ethical | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12311/3636 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Uganda Christian University | |
| dc.title | The role of artificial intelligence in news production and reporting: a Case Study of Uganda Christian University | |
| dc.type | Dissertation |