Artificial intelligence is shaping public debate, yet media coverage often oscillates between grand promises and dystopian scenarios. How journalists report on AI strongly influences how society and policymakers understand and assess this technology.
The project examines the structural conditions under which AI reporting is produced in newsrooms. The focus is on editorial routines, role allocations, departmental boundaries, decision-making processes, and resource constraints. The aim is to understand why nuanced and contextualized reporting on AI so often fails, even though knowledge and expertise are available. Internal digital transformation processes are included as contextual factors.
Based on analyses of existing studies and qualitative interviews with journalists and editorial leaders, the project seeks to identify the conditions necessary for more informed, grounded, and responsible journalistic coverage of AI.
Svea Eckert is a freelance tech journalist and author. Her work focuses on digitalization, data protection, IT security, and artificial intelligence. She works primarily for NDR and ARD, including Tagesschau, Tagesthemen, and ARD Story.
Her work has received numerous awards, including the German Journalist Award, the Helmut Schmidt Prize, and the Surveillance Studies Award. She hosts several technology and transformation podcasts, regularly appears as an expert in ARD programs, and speaks at international technology and futures conferences.