
Reimagining Journalism in the AI Era
Charlie Beckett(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 15. October 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
206 pages
978-1-041-02450-7 (ISBN)
Description
This book considers how journalism is being changed by AI and what this means for the future of the profession and for society.
The adoption of AI in the information sphere raises many fundamental questions about journalism: What is journalism for? What value does it have? What are its ethics? How has it changed? What do we aspire for in journalism and what do we fear? How do we pay for it and what power does it have? These are the questions at the centre of this book. It addresses some of the key controversies around ideas of truth, trust, and technology and makes the case for a cautious but pragmatic approach to adoption, pointing to ways in which moral concerns are often exaggerated or misunderstood to distract from real issues and even exacerbate societal impacts.
Written in straightforward, engaging language, this is a key text for advanced journalism students and practitioners.
The adoption of AI in the information sphere raises many fundamental questions about journalism: What is journalism for? What value does it have? What are its ethics? How has it changed? What do we aspire for in journalism and what do we fear? How do we pay for it and what power does it have? These are the questions at the centre of this book. It addresses some of the key controversies around ideas of truth, trust, and technology and makes the case for a cautious but pragmatic approach to adoption, pointing to ways in which moral concerns are often exaggerated or misunderstood to distract from real issues and even exacerbate societal impacts.
Written in straightforward, engaging language, this is a key text for advanced journalism students and practitioners.
Reviews / Votes
"What makes this book particularly valuable is its global perspective. Too many guides assume well-resourced Western newsrooms. This book takes seriously the far more constrained reality of publishers in the Global South and argues convincingly that this AI wave can be a leg up even for those newsrooms, not just another force that widens the gap."- Styli Charalambous, co-founder and CEO of the Daily Maverick, South Africa
"The realm of AI can be bewildering. It's hard to find reliable, thoughtful, measured voices in a landscape dominated by polarised opinion. This book is an essential tool to help people answer the most critical question in media today: what are the human qualities that must be at the centre of our journalism, and how can we use AI responsibly to amplify them?"
- Chris Moran, Head of Editorial Innovation, The Guardian
"This book arrives at exactly the right moment, when questions around AI and journalism feel urgent but still unsettled. It walks us through how we got here, what is already changing inside newsrooms, what might lie ahead, with a clarity that makes this complex shift graspable."
- Sannuta Raghu, Head of AI, Scroll Media, India
In 'Reimagining journalism in the AI era' Beckett traces how newsrooms have explored, feared and too often avoided AI. When most of the conversation about journalism and GenAI is either paranoid or naively utopian, Beckett clearly lays out a handful of visions of what might truly come to pass and how journalists can embrace the best and avoid the worst of what GenAI brings to news."
- Jeremy Gilbert, Knight Professor in Digital Media Strategy, Northwestern University
"What makes the book essential is not just its range and breadth but its central provocation: that in an age of AI, the human element becomes more important, not less. The book's argument - that curiosity, craft, and connection are precisely journalism must reclaim - comes at a time when the field needs guidance from grounded research rather than glittering buzzwords."
- Seth C. Lewis, co-author of Journalism in the Age of AI and the Elcan Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professor of AI and Media Studies at the University of Virginia
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Postgraduate, Professional Practice & Development, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-041-02450-7 (9781041024507)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Charlie Beckett
Reimagining Journalism in the AI Era
Book
approx. 10/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€191.50
Not yet published
Charlie Beckett
Reimagining Journalism in the AI Era
E-Book
approx. 10/2026
Routledge
€55.49
Not yet available
Charlie Beckett
Reimagining Journalism in the AI Era
E-Book
approx. 10/2026
Routledge
€55.49
Not yet available
Person
Charlie Beckett is Professor of Practice and Director of Polis and the Polis/LSE JournalismAI project at the Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics, UK.
Content
Preface, Chapter One: How did we get here, and what is at stake?, Chapter Two: AI in Action, Section 1: How AI is being used in journalism, Section 2: Strategy and management, Chapter Three: Ethical and Editorial Risks, Chapter Four: Inequalities and Power, Chapter Five: Future of News Scenarios, Bibliography, Index