For journalists and news outlets, there is no going back as Artificial Intelligence (AI) transforms how the media work in a new information age. This year’s EBU News Report shows the way ahead as the news industry makes deliberate but cautious moves to assess the benefits and risks of rapidly evolving AI models and tools.

Leading Newsrooms in the Age of Generative AI offers a wealth of insights and practical steps drawn from in-depth interviews with 20 media leaders and academic experts, case studies, checklists and first-hand experience from around the world.

For Dr Alexandra Borchardt, the lead author, the pace of AI development and the effects on newsrooms have been astounding since the 2024 News Report was published just 10 months ago.

“As the technology races ahead, there’s a mismatch with media organizations right now as they embrace some AI solutions as helpful tools while staying wary about the implications for accuracy, integrity, public trust and the need to stay visible and legitimate in a flood of AI-generated content,” said Borchardt.

“Newsrooms have become more strategic with AI on how to bring staff along, how audiences react, how the technology might affect creativity and – with some hope – how it might actually help journalism flourish in an ever more complex environment.”

Download the 2025 EBU News Report.

Listen to the Eurovision News Podcast for insights from the report with Dr Borchardt and Olle Zachrison, Head of Artificial Intelligence & News Strategy at Swedish Radio.

Join us for a free webinar on 30 April at 1100 CET on the report with Dr Borchardt and Belén López Garrido, Editorial Manager at Eurovision News.

Among the many insights are these AI “to do” points for newsroom leaders:

• Journalism strategy: Define your mission, your audiences and the value you add to your audiences’ lives.
• Distribution strategy: Find the sweet spot between personalization and creating shared experiences.
• Platform strategy: Invest in “owning” your audiences and decide where to create value on third party platforms.
• Tech strategy: Define when to be a first mover and when being a smart adopter will do.
• Data strategy: Define how much trusted information you will share with everyone and how much of your content you will make proprietary.
• Talent strategy: Decide when to invest in journalism and when to invest in tech talent.

“With the explosion of Artificial Intelligence, we’re witnessing not only a technological revolution – the most powerful in our history – but also a milestone in the history of humanity,” Eric Scherer, Director News MediaLab and International Affairs at France Télévisions and Chair of the EBU News Committee, wrote in the report’s foreward.

“So, yes, we’re glad and lucky to be living in historic times. But, in an area so central to our democracies, beware of the elephant in the room: the loss of human control.”

Liz Corbin, Director of News at the EBU, said the report is a treasure trove of examples of public service media working to take advantage of AI’s potential while safeguarding the integrity of news.

“As a newsroom leader, there is nothing more daunting in this age of generative AI than the need to be at the cutting edge of technology while also being responsible for protecting the integrity of our journalism. This report provides inspiring examples and builds confidence that it’s possible to do both,” said Corbin.

“For journalism to thrive, we must add value with brilliant storytelling, uniquely human voices, constant accountability and community connections as trusted partners of the audiences we serve.”

Dr Borchardt was supported by Ed Mulhall, Belén López Garrido and Yolène Johanny. The illustrations in the report are the work of Kati Bremme.

Experts from these organizations shared their perspective for this year’s report: BBC (UK), ZDF (Germany), London School of Economics (UK), Washington Post (US), NPO (Netherlands), Radio France, Yle (Finland), Bayerischer Rundfunk (Germany), CBC/Radio Canada, SVT (Sweden), JP/Politikens (Denmark), MIT Media Lab (US), Rappler (Philippines), Center for News, Technology & Innovation (US), How We Do This Ltd (UK), Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (UK), SR (Sweden) and RTS (Switzerland).

Leading Newsrooms in the Age of Generative AI is the latest in the series of annual EBU News Reports that drill down into a major topic with implications for news and journalism.

Previous reports include:

• Trusted Journalism in the Age of Generative AI
• Climate Journalism That Works – Between Knowledge and Impact
• The Future of the TV News Bulletin
• What’s Next? Public Service Journalism in the Age of Distraction, Opinion and Information Abundance