News Editors' Perceptions and Acceptance of AI Integration in Malaysian Journalism: A TAM-Based Quantitative Study

Abstract

This paper explores how artificial intelligence (AI) tools can be implemented in Malaysian newsrooms, with the focus on how AI can change the nature of journalistic activity, what ethical concerns surround this approach, and the impact of AI on the quality and credibility of news. The data collection was conducted by sending a survey to reporters and editors at various Malaysian news organizations, yielding 20 valid responses. The findings indicate that AI, including AI-assisted editing and content verification tools, is frequent, although not all of them substitute human journalists. Integrating AI into journalism is thought to make the process more efficient, cut down on work, and improve the quality of the content (Broussard, 2018; Carlson, 2015). But worries about how AI will affect the credibility of news stories, especially in content creation and investigative journalism, continue. Also, news organizations said that ethical issues were important to think about (Diakopoulos, 2019). The results of perceived ease of use (PEOU), human oversight (HO), and ethical concerns (EC) are strong signs that journalists want to use AI. These findings are in line with the TAM model, according to which AI is a beneficial tool whose role in journalism is still secondary, and thus, the role of human editorial judgment cannot be underrated. This paper focuses on the importance of having news companies adopt clear ethical principles, as well as integrating AI in a moderate way, which will enhance the integrity of journalism without compromising professional values. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, journalism, news editors, AI integration, Technological Acceptance Model.