Sophie Wilson
If you want a glimpse of journalism’s future, you don’t need sci-fi goggles or a time machine – you just need a conversation with Luke Williams, Today Digital’s Production Editor.
While everyone else is busy panicking about AI, Luke is quietly mapping out how journalists can actually use it – smartly, responsibly, and with their sanity intact.
He sums it up simply:
“The journalists who’ll thrive are the ones who can blend classic editorial instincts with modern AI literacy.”
Bottom line: journalism now needs both human instinct and AI literacy.
The New Journalist: Part Reporter, Part Analyst, Part AI Strategist
Let’s be honest: the job description is changing. Gone are the days when being “good with words” was enough. Today’s aspiring journalists need to master a hybrid craft – one part traditional reporting, one part digital savvy, one part AI fluency.
Luke says:
“You need to understand how to collaborate with AI, know its strengths, know its limitations – and especially know how to correct it.”
Because AI will happily give you a beautifully phrased sentence… but it could be factually wrong, contextually messy, or just bizarre enough to make your editor whisper: “Are you okay?”
So, aspiring journalists need:
- Critical thinking (still non-negotiable)
- Verification skills (more important than ever)
- Subject matter expertise (machines can’t fake it)
- AI literacy (collaboration, not dependence)
AI Literacy is the New Baseline Skill You Shouldn’t Graduate Without
If digital literacy was the big shift ten years ago, AI literacy is the one happening right now.
Luke sees it as foundational:
“It’s not replacing the skill of being a journalist – it’ll enhance it.”
The strongest reporters will be the ones who know how to use AI to:
- surface insights
- draw connections between disparate story threads
- analyse data more efficiently
- speed up repetitive tasks
- spark new angles
- challenge assumptions
AI isn’t the thinker – you are.
“It doesn’t do the thinking for you, it gives you a framework for where to direct your thinking.”
It’s the difference between:
“I don’t know where to start.”
and
“Okay, now I see five angles – which one reveals more truth?”
Data Literacy, Prompt Crafting, and Other Modern Magic Tricks
Let’s talk skills – the ones you really need if you’re about to step into an AI-powered newsroom.
Data literacy:
Even the basics matter. You’ll need to query datasets, interpret trends, validate insights, and understand analytics tools. No, you don’t have to become a statistician -but you do need to know your way around a dashboard.
Prompt writing
Writing prompts is now a journalism skill. The quality of your thinking depends on the quality of your inputs.
“Prompt engineering is basically a writing skill. Those prompts can be detailed, prescriptive, complex – and journalists need to know how to do that.”
AI Enhances the Journalist – It Doesn’t Replace Them
AI is excellent at the heavy lifting:
- research
- summarising
- processing interviews
- generating transcripts
- organising notes
All the bits no journalist ever puts on their CV under “passions.”
But AI still can’t do what human journalists do best:
- conduct high-stakes interviews
- identify the hidden angle
- interpret nuance
- structure narratives
- bring lived experience into the work
“AI should amplify great journalism, not replace it.”
The ‘Journalist’ Job Description is Evolving – That’s a Good Thing
According to Luke, the role of a journalist is already shifting:
“Instead of spending hours on logistics like transcripts or background reading, journalists will focus more on synthesising information, finding angles, and originality.”
Think less scribe, more information architect.
Will Newsrooms Expect AI Literacy?
Luke says If you’re entering the field, employers will value AI literacy. But perfection isn’t required.
“A willingness to learn is more important.”
You don’t need to master every AI tool, but iIf you can demonstrate curiosity and competence, you’re already ahead of half the industry.
How Today Digital Prepares Journalists for the Future
Today Digital is focused on thoughtful AI integration. We are committed to educating our teams and empowering everyone to use tools confidently, not to replace journalists, but to level them up.
We give teams time to experiment, compare tools, share learnings, and build their own AI fluency – safely, responsibly, creatively. Responsible adoption is cultural, not technical.
Luke calls it “creating safe spaces to experiment,” and he’s right – experimentation is how skill becomes confidence.
Advice for the Next Generation of Journalists (From Someone Who’s Editing Their Future Work)
If you’re studying journalism or hoping to break into the field, here’s Luke’s advice distilled into one essential line:
“Get familiar with AI. Learn how to prompt. See what it can do – and what it gets wrong.”
Journalism has always favoured the curious – not the perfect.
Your job isn’t to know everything, but to learn faster than the world changes!
A Final Word to the New Generation
If you’re an aspiring journalist reading this, here’s the truth:
AI isn’t your enemy. Fear is. Curiosity, on the other hand? That’s your superpower. It’s what separates the journalists who write with machines from the journalists who get replaced by them.
So experiment boldly. Collaborate thoughtfully. Interrogate everything – including the AI.
And remember: The future newsroom will belong to the journalists who stay relentlessly human while getting brilliantly augmented.
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