Why AI’s Need for Quality News Content Could Secure Journalism’s Future

How AI Might Save the News Media

At first glance, AI and journalism might seem like rivals. Since the launch of ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots in late 2022, much of the discussion has centered on AI replacing journalists and content creators. The media industry, already under pressure, feels threatened. Inside some newsrooms, executives have even suggested AI could take over jobs. For example, Politico and Insider's owner Mathias Döpfner warned staff about AI replacements earlier this year. BuzzFeed’s entire newsroom was laid off as the company pivoted toward AI-driven content. Other news organizations have experimented with AI-generated articles, and companies like Meta and OpenAI recruit journalists to help train large language models (LLMs). Naturally, these changes have caused concern among journalists.

Yet, media executives may have rushed into adopting AI too quickly, often at the expense of experienced staff. Several incidents exposed the risks of AI-generated content without proper oversight. CNET and Bankrate published numerous AI-written articles that contained inaccuracies, forcing them to halt AI content. G/O Media faced backlash for releasing AI stories with multiple errors due to lack of editorial review. Microsoft users were disturbed by an inappropriate AI-generated poll linked to a sensitive news story. These examples suggest AI is unlikely to replace journalists fully. Instead, AI is set to assist newsrooms, potentially making them stronger. Why? Because AI labs need high-quality training content — and that content comes from professional news organizations.

Déjà Vu: How Social Media Reshaped News

The internet changed media dramatically. Early enthusiasm for social media gave publishers new distribution channels beyond print. But this also meant competing with a global array of publications, bloggers, and influencers. While some outlets thrived—like The New York Times, now one of the largest news publishers with over 11 million paid subscribers—many others struggled or closed.

AI may similarly reshape the media industry, but this time by restoring some influence back to established news organizations. Large Language Models require massive amounts of content for training, and the quality of that content varies widely. AI companies value information from reputable news sources because it’s vetted by entire teams of reporters and editors. That makes it more reliable than the noise often found on social media feeds. This recognition highlights the ongoing importance of newsrooms and their human contributors.

Some media companies have taken a defensive stance. The New York Times is suing OpenAI, and many outlets, including The Guardian, Condé Nast, and Forbes, block AI crawlers from scraping their content. The News/Media Alliance criticized Google’s AI Mode for using publisher content without compensation. Yet these moves may be negotiation tactics. Many AI labs have started partnering with media outlets. OpenAI, for instance, works with over 20 publishers and 160+ outlets like The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and Wired. Similarly, Perplexity has agreements with AdWeek, The Independent, and the Los Angeles Times.

AI labs are reaching a point where much of the publicly available, high-quality data has been exhausted. Securing licensed partnerships is crucial for AI companies to build better models, for newsrooms to broaden their reach, and for consumers to access accurate, well-researched information.

The New Front Page: Getting Into the AI Dataset

Consumers are increasingly using AI to search for information. Traditional search engines like Google face challenges as their results get flooded with marketing content and SEO-optimized but low-value websites. AI assistants like ChatGPT offer more focused and useful answers. For example, ChatGPT recently drove more traffic to a developer’s blog than DuckDuckGo or Bing, with visitors spending more time reading.

Being included in the training datasets of major LLMs will soon be as important as ranking high on Google search results. People use AI for product recommendations, app research, summarizing complex topics, market research, and learning new things. This creates fresh opportunities for brands and businesses to reach audiences.

Here’s the key: the best way to get into AI training datasets is by appearing in reputable news publications that produce quality journalism and have direct partnerships with AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity. This reinforces the value of the media and offers a practical path forward. For PR and communications professionals, optimizing content for inclusion in AI datasets will become the next frontier of search engine optimization.

For those interested in exploring AI tools and training opportunities relevant to media and communications, Complete AI Training offers a variety of courses designed to help professionals adapt and thrive in this evolving landscape.