New reality of public service media journalists: How generative AI redefines journalism and work practices

The main goal of the study was to capture the new reality of journalists in the public service media in the Czech Republic, particularly in the Czech News Agency (Česká tisková kancelář, ČTK) in the context of the rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) after the release of ChatGPT in November 2022. The Czech News Agency is one of the most important public service media. Our study tries to capture the transformation of the use of GenAI and the perception of future in journalism through two waves of tracking research (2023 and 2024). Between 2023 and 2024, an increase in the intensive use of GenAI tools was recorded in ČTK. Higher intensity of GenAI use was found in the editorial positions as well as in the non-editorial positions, especially in 2024 that declares an expansion in the use of GenAI outside of traditional editorial tasks. The opinion persisted among employees in 2024 that AI would not replace journalists within five years, but that a new hybrid model of collaboration between journalists and technology would be created. The frequency of GenAI use had no impact on these attitudes, confirming the homogeneous perception of GenAI among professions. Graphic designers and software engineers were considered the most affected professions by AI, while journalists and teachers were identified as the least affected professions by GenAI. The outcomes demonstrate a relatively stable perception and pragmatic acceptance of AI technologies in public service media in the current period as well as in the future. • Future journalism perception through capturing alteration in GenAI use. • GenAI use frequency does not impact alteration in journalists' positions in future. • Increasing integration of GenAI tools into various profession types in news media. • Significance of collaboration ties in internal and external media ecosystem. • Changing demands in journalistic work positions under the GenAI influence in future.