The Impact of Artificial Intelligence Technology on Journalistic Practices, News Narratives and Ethical Challenges in a Local Media Outlet of Auckland

The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the newsrooms has seen an increasing prominence against a backdrop of digitalization of the media landscape. Local media, significant in its role in serving a specific geographic area or community, is at the forefront of challenges from AI technology. This paper intends to explore the specific influences of AI over the norms and professionalism of journalistic practices in a local media under the lens of public discourse, so as to testify whether AI could facilitate the media in widening or narrowing democratic participation. The research approaches ethnography of Channel 33, a television Channel which is based in Auckland and targets the Chinese community, as a case study, and the findings intend to spark further research addressing this issue with different methods and providing counterbalance suggestions to the professionals and policy makers.