The use of AI in newsrooms is expanding. But journalists’ fears of losing their jobs are also growing. According to research, the majority of journalists in North America and Europe believe that AI will one day take their jobs away. Journalists in Turkey, while not quite as concerned “for now,” acknowledge that AI is particularly threatening editors’ jobs. Some journalists, however, say that political pressure and the economic crisis worry them more than AI.
AI language models are being used for an increasing number of tasks in newsrooms every day -from research to translation, and from headline generation to text editing. However, while these tools make journalists’ work easier, their ability to automate news writing and editing processes also raises concerns about the future of journalism. Especially as AI language models become firmly established in newsrooms, journalists are debating how much of their work will eventually be taken over by these systems -or, to put it more plainly, their chances of becoming unemployed.
A study conducted in May 2025 by Pressat, a UK-based press release distribution and public relations service, provides concrete data on this issue.
According to the study, more than 70 percent of journalists in the UK are concerned that artificial intelligence will leave them unemployed within a few years.
The views of journalists who train AI tools themselves are no different from those of their colleagues in the UK.
Khaleda Khan, a journalist working as an AI language model trainer at xAI -the AI company owned by Elon Musk- said in a statement to the Reuters Institute on June 5:
“While working there, I used to think, ‘Am I helping to create something that will eventually replace me?’ I didn’t know I’d end up being a freelance journalist competing against it. I also didn’t know it would happen this quickly.”
Darius Osborne, who currently works as a data labeling analyst at Meta, also says, “I often think I’m training the person who will eventually replace me.”
Journalist Bettina Blass, who works at the AI company tisix.IO, has long since given up hope.
Blass, who trains an AI tool that automatically converts press releases, police alerts, or announcements into news articles, believes journalists should consider different career paths rather than fighting against AI.
The latest study by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), whose results were published on July 23, also shows that European journalists share these same concerns
According to the report covered by Journo, journalists view AI tools that directly write news stories or generate content as a threat to themselves.
“POLITICAL PRESSURE AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS WORRY ME MORE”
So what do journalists in Turkey think about this? Do they see AI as a tool that is becoming more capable every day, or as a threat that could eventually replace them?
bianet editor Hikmet Adal is a journalist who frequently uses AI in his work. “I generally use it when doing preliminary research or to find out where I can locate the data I’m looking for,” says Adal. Regarding the possibility of losing his job due to AI, he adds, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. But I’m not overly negative about it either.”
According to Adal, AI “can easily pull news stories from agencies,” but “it cannot follow a protest, go to court to observe a hearing; it cannot speak with the families of workers who lost their lives in workplace accidents, those displaced by the expropriation for a mine in İkizköy, citizens whose salaries don’t make it to the end of the month, or a journalist detained for doing their job.”
For this reason, Adal, who currently views AI merely as a facilitator, adds, “Polarization in the media, political pressure, and the economic crisis—which is leading to job losses—worry me more than AI does.”
Merve Tur, an online editor at Evrensel Newspaper, is also one of the journalists using AI in her work.
Tur, who uses AI for translation, searching for sources during the preliminary research process, and data mining, also says that for now, AI merely makes her work easier:
“Just as in many other professions, AI can take on certain tasks in journalism. However, journalism is not merely a technical production process. It is also a profession that requires fieldwork, creativity, experience, and an editorial perspective. For this reason, I do not think artificial intelligence will completely replace journalism.”
Tur adds, “I think the political and economic pressures facing journalism pose a greater threat than AI.”
“WE MAY BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THIS MORE OPENLY WITHIN 4–5 YEARS”
Ceren Bâlâ Teke, an editor at T24, says she uses AI in her work solely for visual production.
Teke, who notes that she does not find AI reliable or ethical in news writing, also states that it is “devoid of creativity and the human touch.”
Teke, noting that AI can handle only a portion of a journalist’s work, says, “If we consider only editors, concerns about AI-driven job loss may certainly increase; however, when it comes to field journalism, it’s not possible for AI to put journalists out of work. “For me, this isn’t a concrete risk at the moment, but in 4–5 years, we may be discussing this more openly,” he says.
Derya Doğan, editor of Nefes Gazetesi, is also among the journalists who, like Teke, rarely use artificial intelligence in her work. “Because artificial intelligence dulls human creativity and analytical skills,” says Doğan, who has no concerns about unemployment caused by artificial intelligence. The reason for this is very clear to Doğan:
“News stories are crafted to appeal to human emotions, and AI has a mechanical structure that is detached from these emotions.”
Doğan, who says journalism is a matter of conscience, adds, “Journalism cannot be done with mechanical expressions consisting of perfectly structured sentences of equal length that contain no emotion and trigger neither anger nor conscience. Given this situation, the question arises: ‘Can we see this conscience in artificial intelligence?’ The answer is simple: ‘It’s not possible.’
THE SITUATION IS DIFFERENT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
“I generally use artificial intelligence for menial tasks,” says Hülya Çetinkaya, news director and editor at Gündem Fethiye, who remains cautious.
While Çetinkaya does not see a concrete short-term risk of AI-driven unemployment in journalism, she notes that she harbors some concern in the long term.
Stating that part of this concern pertains to the role of an editor, Çetinkaya adds, “The situation is different, especially for journalists like me who work locally—both in the field and at the desk. “When we’re out in the field, we have plenty of opportunities to observe and talk to people. This allows us to turn a clue from a routine story into a special report. I don’t think artificial intelligence can do that,” she says
Noting that the lack of a human voice in AI-generated texts is noticeable, Çetinkaya states, “There will always be a need for journalism that goes out into the field, asks questions, makes observations, and holds people accountable.”
