Observed Signal · Jun 4, 2026 · Research Report · Source: VideoWeek · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Survey Finds Newsrooms Prioritising AI, Video and Creators
The inaugural Future Newsrooms Study from FT Strategies and WAN-IFRA, reported by VideoWeek, surveyed 448 editorial or executive staff across 86 countries and found that skills gaps (61%), cultural resistance (52%) and unclear use cases (45%) are the main barriers to AI adoption in newsrooms. While many expect editorial output to rise, a sizable share (43%) anticipate AI reducing newsroom headcount. The report says publishers should prioritise AI uses that enable journalism previously impractical, and highlights a renewed shift to short-form video (79% planning to focus more) and growing engagement with creators — with 41% building internal creator capabilities and 34% working with external creators. The study cautions that treating creator partnerships primarily as risk management (brand alignment cited by 37%) may limit growth opportunities.
A global study from FT Strategies and WAN-IFRA highlights AI adoption barriers and signals a renewed industry pivot to short-form video and creator partnerships, which influence publisher content strategy and ad monetization approaches.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Future Newsrooms Study surveyed 448 editorial or executive leadership staff across 86 countries.
- Survey identified top barriers to AI adoption as skills gaps (61%), cultural resistance (52%) and unclear use cases (45%).
- 39% of newsrooms expect overall editorial output to increase over the next three years; 43% agreed AI will reduce newsroom employment.
- 79% of respondents plan to focus more on short-form video next year; 72% plan to focus more on in-depth text.
- 41% of newsrooms are building internal creator capabilities, 34% work with external creators, and 68% lack formal on-camera training programmes.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Publishers Embrace Video, Creators to Fight AI Traffic Decline
The Reuters Institute’s annual trends report warns existential pressures for news publishers, including AI-driven traffic declines, eroding trust, and misinformation. Surveying 280 media leaders worldwide, only 38% are confident about journalism in 2026 (down from 60% in 2022), while 53% are confident in their own business prospects. To counter AI-impacted reach, publishers are reshaping content, revenue, and external partnerships. Chartbeat data show Google Search referrals down 33% year-over-year in November, with publishers projecting a 40% traffic drop from search over the next three years; Facebook and X referrals also declined (43% and 46%). Referrals to AI tools remain tiny (ChatGPT ~0.02%). In response, 91% plan more original investigations, 79% more video, and 71% more audio. About 76% say journalists should act more like creators; 50% will partner with creators for distribution, and 31% plan to hire creators to reach younger audiences.
AI Boosts Content Creation, But Engagement Still Lags
PhotoShelter published a survey of nearly 400 marketing, communications, and creative professionals showing widespread AI adoption in content workflows but persistent challenges with audience engagement and brand differentiation. Key findings: 69% of marketers use AI in asset and content workflows (up from 59% in 2023), 54% call AI an essential creative partner, and 96% say human oversight remains critical to preserve originality. The report also highlights workflow frictions—content getting stuck in review and approvals—and concerns that AI-generated content may flood audiences with generic material. Respondents report time savings from AI (about 15 hours per week on average) but uneven perceived benefits between leaders and individual contributors.
Digiday+: Publishers Embed AI Across Editorial Workflows
Digiday+ Research (survey of 40 publisher professionals, Q4 2025) finds AI moving from the margins into mainstream editorial workflows. Publishers report using AI most for internal chatbots/assistants, voice-to-text translation, and multimedia generation (each used by 53% of respondents). Other common uses include content recommendation (37%), copy generation (33%) and advanced search (30%). The report includes publisher examples: Dow Jones uses an LLM-based auto-translation service (expanded into multiple languages), The New York Times uses AI for audio narration and investigative data parsing, Reuters experimented with LLM-generated rough video edits in 2025, Business Insider integrated AI into its CMS and launched search in June 2025 with an AI audio briefing feature, and Forbes uses generative AI for contextual recommendations.
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