Between Bits and News: Portuguese Journalists’ Uses and Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence

The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into journalism is reshaping professional routines while raising ethical, organisational, and normative challenges. Despite the growing presence of AI tools in newsrooms, empirical knowledge of how journalists perceive and negotiate their use remains limited, particularly in specific national contexts such as Portugal. This study explores how Portuguese journalists use and perceive AI in their professional practice, examining motivations for adoption, perceived benefits and risks, and the negotiation between human judgment and AI-generated content. Drawing on uses and gratifications theory (UGT) and the communicative AI paradigm, the study adopts a qualitative method based on semi-structured online interviews with 19 journalists from diverse media sectors, roles, age groups, and career stages. Data were analysed using framework analysis. Findings indicate that journalists primarily frame AI as a technical support tool that enhances efficiency and facilitates routine tasks such as transcription, translation, and information processing. At the same time, strong concerns emerge regarding transparency, algorithmic bias, professional autonomy, credibility, and editorial responsibility. Although AI is widely perceived as inevitable, its legitimacy is seen as dependent on ethical frameworks, organisational regulation, and sustained human oversight. The study contributes to research on AI and journalism by integrating motivational and normative perspectives, highlighting how instrumental uses of AI coexist with deeper reconfigurations of professional authority and journalistic values. It further recommends the development of ethical guidelines, transparency mechanisms, organisational policies, and targeted training to support responsible and informed AI adoption in journalism.