Journalism associate professor Rodrigo Zamith has published a new co-authored book titled Journalism in the Age of AI: From Acceleration to Reimagination.
The book, co-authored with Seth Lewis and Tomás Dodds, examines what’s happening in newsrooms today and what AI can and cannot offer a system of journalism that is rapidly evolving. Journalism and AI are currently on a crash course, accelerating a system that has already been struggling and wearing down public trust. But the authors argue it does not have to be this way – there are paths forward that AI can offer journalism. Different chapters cover topics including professional practices, media infrastructure, democracy, journalism education and more.
“This is a book that focuses on how AI is impacting journalism, the way that news gets produced and consumed, and the broader implications of all of those changes,” Zamith said. “We thought of it as an opportune moment to rethink, or to reimagine, what journalism could look like when you have not just a new technology but new ways of working that can perhaps reignite some of the good work that gets done in journalism.”
Zamith has self-published multiple open-access textbooks, but this is the first that will get a physical edition (published by Polity Press). It was a long road to publication – Zamith initially began working on a book about AI in 2021 but had to set it aside due to mounting administrative responsibilities. When Lewis, his former PhD advisor, reached out to Zamith in 2024 about Lewis’ own interest in writing a book about AI, they realized it would be a great chance to work together once again and build on Zamith’s existing research.
“This is really exciting for me, in part because the history of this book included some false starts,” Zamith said on the book’s release. “Seeing work that I’m really proud of, and that I think can be quite impactful, and knowing how much work our small team put into it – it just feels incredible.”
Zamith and his co-authors hope that the book proves accessible and informative to a wide variety of people – not just academics, but students, reporters, policymakers and the general public. Whoever the reader is, he challenges them to think about where and how they’re getting their news, and whether they are happy about how things are currently unfolding with AI.
“I think it’s easy to tell ourselves a story of inevitability (about AI) in order to avoid making hard choices. For individual news consumers, those choices can involve, what kinds of organizations and applications of AI am I rewarding with my time or money? Is this a system that appears to be advancing the common good? I think we all have choices to make, if not a responsibility to uphold, about how we’re getting our information and what we’re incentivizing,” Zamith said. “I think the longer we let the story of AI unfold in its current state, the less power we’re going to have to change that trajectory. It’s important that we make some potentially hard choices now.”
Like his previous books, Journalism in the Age of AI is open-access, meaning that anyone can download a free PDF of the book. For those who want to financially support the authors, there is also a Kindle version available for purchase and a physical copy available for pre-order.
Rodrigo Zamith Co-Authors New Book on Journalism and AI
