Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (DUBAI)
AI is rapidly becoming part of everyday newsroom life, but how is it actually changing the way journalists work?
From translation and editing to research and graphics, the technology is reshaping media roles and speeding up everyday tasks.
Speaking to Aletihad on the sidelines of the Arab Media Summit 2026 in Dubai, media professionals and academics shared their experience with AI, the impact it is having on newsrooms and how industry roles are evolving in response.
Original Reporting Remains Human
Diana Skaini, day editor at Annahar News, said AI is already being used across a range of newsroom tasks, including summaries, transcription, translation and research.
“AI is very useful in facilitating many tasks for journalists, but for sure, it can’t do all the tasks,” she said. While technology can take over some of the more routine work, Skaini said original reporting remains firmly dependent on journalists.
“When it comes to exclusivity, original content, creativity, calling your sources and making sure of information, this is the human role, and I believe it will be for a long time ahead,” she said.
That principle has also shaped the organisation’s approach to AI. Annahar recently introduced an AI-powered newsroom and launched an AI charter governing how the technology should be used.
“It is very important to stick to ethics when it comes to AI, and also benefit from everything useful for journalists and make space for more creativity and innovation,” Skaini said.
She said some roles are already evolving, particularly translation, where AI can now perform a substantial part of the initial work before human review. “We always say: human first, human last,” she added.
Faster Workflows
For Dana Al Ashkar, a senior producer at ET Bilarabi, one of AI’s most immediate benefits has been speed. “It helps us with translation, which is very, very quick, and it saves us a lot of time. It also helps us with the edits,” she said.
AI-integrated editing systems are also helping with captions and increasingly supporting graphics teams.
She added that arts and graphics roles are likely to undergo significant change. But keeping pace with that development will require new skills. “We need a lot of training to keep up with the whole trend, and definitely it is the future,” Al Ashkar said.
Transforming Media Production
Dr Moeen Koa, assistant Professor at the University of Sharjah, teaching Strategic Communication and Public Relations, said AI is transforming every stage of media production.
“Media has changed completely because of artificial intelligence, across all stages: from planning and producing media content to evaluating it,” he said.
The changes are already visible inside newsrooms, particularly through virtual presenters and AI tools that can assess presenters’ performance.
“Today, AI can provide us with real-time news alerts during news broadcasts,” Dr Koa said. He added that the technology is moving beyond routine tasks, with some international news agencies experimenting with robotic reporters and AI-powered analysis.
“There are now robots that can take on the role of a political analyst. The news industry has become completely different in the age of artificial intelligence,” he said.
Reducing Production Time
Philippe Riachy, a veteran radio professional with more than 35 years in the industry similarly described AI as a tool that can dramatically reduce production time rather than simply replace broadcasters.
“The work that you used to do in an hour can now be done in 10 minutes,” Riachy said, adding that some tasks that once took four or five hours can now be completed in 30 to 45 minutes.
He said the broadcaster’s role has also expanded beyond going on air, with presenters now expected to create content for social media and podcasts. “The presenter is no longer just a presenter who goes on air. They now have to work on social media and create content for podcasts,” she said.
As roles continue to evolve, he stressed that learning how to work with AI will become increasingly important, with some jobs likely to disappear while new ones emerge.
“AI will not take your place, but if you don’t know how to use AI, they will bring someone who does,” Riachy said.
