AI replaces news gathering? The German media began ...

In order to strengthen its competitiveness in the intelligent era, Germany's best-selling newspaper Bild plans to replace a series of editorial jobs with artificial intelligence technology, which could mean hundreds of layoffs. At present, many European media are exploring the application of artificial intelligence technology in the media field, but there is also controversy.

The media ushered in a wave of AI

According to the "Bild" competitor "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on the 19th, "Bild" publisher Axel Springer has sent an email to its employees, signed by the editor-in-chief and other four executives.

The email wrote that Bild would "regrettably bid farewell to some colleagues." In the digital world, their tasks will be done by artificial intelligence, automated processes... The traditional roles of editor, print producer, proofreader, and photo editor will no longer exist. ”

It is reported that the relevant plan, which is expected to land next month, may mean that nearly 200 people will be laid off, accounting for a third of the paper's total staff. In the future, Axel Springer's flagship daily newspaper Le Monde may take similar measures. There are also reports that Bild does not want to impose sanctions on employees, so it may adopt alternative measures such as wage cuts.

This is the latest move in Bild's shift from print to digital news. With the advent of the era of artificial intelligence, Axel Springer has previously issued a preview.

Earlier this year, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner said Axel Springer would transform into a "purely digital media company." In the near future, the outside world will see the company's "new understanding of high-quality journalism in the digital age."

At that time, the chatbot ChatGPT began to catch fire. Dofner expects that AI will soon outperform editors when it comes to "information aggregation." Only publishers that create "best original content" such as excellent investigative journalism and original reviews will survive.

Since then, the relevant plans have gradually landed. Earlier this month, Reuters reported citing internal sources that Axel Springer will set up a dedicated team to focus on artificial intelligence mergers and acquisitions.

Recently, the rise of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT seems to have the potential to replace human intelligence. With a simple prompt, these robots can generate more complex texts, from prose to poetry to novels... It's all right.

In this context, Axel Springer is not the first media organization to focus on artificial intelligence. US online news outlet BuzzFeed announced this year that it aims to use artificial intelligence to "enhance" services such as content. In the UK, the Daily Mirror and Daily Express are also exploring the application of artificial intelligence.

But at the same time, there is no shortage of controversy about using artificial intelligence to generate news. The answers given by such robots are not only wrong, but may even be fabricated.

It is reported that the US technology news website CNET has begun to use artificial intelligence to write stories and have human editors review their accuracy. But there are reports that more than half of the articles had to be revised. CNET acknowledged in January that the project had limitations.

For example, in April this year, the German magazine "Die Aktuelle" used artificial intelligence to generate an "interview" with "car king" Michael Schumacher. However, Schumacher has not been seen in public since a serious head injury caused by a skiing accident in 2013. The "interview" caused widespread controversy and dissatisfaction among Schumacher's family, and the magazine's publisher later apologized and fired the editor.

The tabloids faced years of trouble

In addition to the wave of artificial intelligence, Bild has faced several other opportunities and challenges in recent years.

It is reported that "Bild" is one of the best-selling newspapers in Europe, and currently has many APP users, which has a certain influence. But the daily newspaper was also labeled tabloid, sometimes carrying eyeball-grabbing and highly politicized reporting.

Its publisher, Axel Springer, is a major European media publisher whose major shareholder is international private equity giant KKR. Axel Springer's decision-making was also influenced by KKR.

Following the acquisition of US news site Business Insider in 2015 for nearly $400 million, Axel Springer spent more than $1 billion on the US news site Politico in 2021, expanding the company's footprint across the Atlantic.

However, like many traditional media, Bild is facing a decline in readership. It is reported that the newspaper's sales have fallen from more than 4.5 million copies 20 years ago to more than 1 million copies last year.

To add insult to injury, the print media's reputation has been hit by multiple scandals. In early 2021, it was reported that several female employees of Bild had complained that the paper's editor-in-chief, Julian Reicherte, had abused power, coerced or bullied others, while Axel Springer had "turned a blind eye." In the end, Reichelt was fired amid the controversy, and the aftermath of the scandal has not yet dissipated.

Earlier this year, leaked information revealed that Döpfner had tried to use Bild to influence the last German election, including sending it his personal views on climate change, anti-pandemic measures and former Chancellor Angela Merkel. Dofner then had to come forward and apologize.

In this context, Bild has entered a stage of transformation and reform, and has taken measures such as streamlining and restructuring its leadership team.

Earlier this year, when announcing Axel Springer's transformation strategy, Dofner said: "Profit is not everything, but without profit, everything will be gone".

With this "digital-only" strategy, Axel Springer aims to increase revenue by €100 million over the next three years by increasing sales and cutting costs, and to achieve more than 20 million online visits in a single day by 2026.

In addition to the restructuring of human resources, the latest reform plan includes measures such as streamlining and restructuring regional operations.

However, Axel Springer's latest move has faced criticism. The Association of German Journalists warns that these moves are tantamount to "cutting down cash cows" and are unwise in terms of human resources and economic efficiency. In addition, less regional coverage means less service to readers, which will lead to a loss of readers.

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Column editor-in-chief: Yang Liqun Text editor: Yang Liqun Title image source: Visual China Photo editor: Xiang Jianying

Source: Author: Lu Yifei