Profs Angela Misri, Nicole Blanchett and April Lindgren, have collaborated on several projects that spun out of the original research questions we came up with in 2022:
- How is the use of A.I. in Canadian newsrooms expanding practice in the field of journalism?
- Does existing journalistic doxa allow for sufficient ethical consideration of the use of A.I. in Canadian newsrooms?
We got our permissions from TMU’s Research Ethics Board and then spent the next year interviewing newsworkers in small, medium, and large newsrooms, asking them questions about their use of AI tools to produce journalistic work.
Bourdieu identified that an influx “of new agents into the field can serve as either forces for transformation or conservation” of existing practices.
In the first phase of this research, Profs Misri, Blanchett and Lindgren applied Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory to interviews with Canadian newsworkers to assess how newsroom ethics are evolving, and whether these professional norms are keeping pace with the incorporation of AI tools into journalistic practice.
The findings from this research were presented by Prof Misri at the Unstable Diffusions conference in 2024 and by Profs Misri & Blanchett at the 2024 Canadian Communications Conference.
It also became a published paper in Digital Journalism called, “There’s a Rule Book in my Head”: Journalism Ethics Meet A.I. in the Newsroom
Finally, we wrote an article about the research for The Conversation called Have journalists skipped the ethics conversation when it comes to using AI?
In the second phase of this research, Profs Misri and Blanchett wanted to explore how the implementation of AI within newsrooms shapes journalists’ professional role conceptions and practices. How do journalists make sense of AI as a tool? How does its presence influence their perceptions of their responsibilities, autonomy, and identity within the newsroom?
Rather than focusing solely on the technical capabilities of AI, this phase foregrounds relational impact: how technological change intersects with journalists’ sense of purpose, expertise, and ethical commitment in everyday work.
The findings from this research became Chapter 10 in a book called The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and Journalism.