As technology evolves across sectors, industries are deploying every trick in the book to achieve sustainability, efficiency and faster results.
At the centre of this shift is Artificial Intelligence, a powerful model now cutting across nearly every field.
Media stakeholders say this technology has permeated through journalism. Leveraging AI has become essential, rewriting old practices and shaping the future of storytelling and media operations.
AI IN RADIO PRODUCTION
At Radio Africa Group, management actively pushed the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in the radio department.
Senior radio producer Jacky Stany says AI has nearly taken over several aspects of production work.
Its efficiency has significantly eased the production process, resulting in faster workflows and improved content quality, she says.
She recalls the senior manager repeatedly telling the department team that AI is the future and sharing links.
At first, it seemed like a far-fetched idea because it was a foreign concept. But eventually, the team embraced it after the company invested in ElevenLabs, an AI voice generator tool.
She says that most of the production work, ranging from classifieds, promos to voice-overs is AI-generated, thus significantly increasing quality and lowering production costs by reducing the need to hire voiceover artistes.
“When I talk of voiceovers, it’s here to make the job easier because sometimes you get a client coming in saying I need my classified produced in the next one hour,” Stany said.
“And if you have a scarcity of voices, then that’s where AI comes in.”
Through the use of the voice tool, she can easily generate voices for both genders, which is suitable for her commercial.
Though it enhances her work, Stany warned that this form of technology can easily be misused.
“Ethical safeguards should be put in place to ensure that people’s voices are not misused, especially at a time when artificial intelligence can clone voices.”
All in all, Stany praises AI, saying it has enhanced her creativity. She describes the relationship as symbiotic.
“The more you prompt it, the more it understands how you think and what your needs are, and vice versa,” she said.
“Likewise, the more I use the tool, the better I understand what it is capable of delivering in return.”
Lorna Mainga, a radio music scheduler, says AI-generated music that has received airplay in the stations she serves has also enjoyed a fair reception due to its high production quality.
“The few songs we have played on air have received a fairly good reception because a song’s success is closely tied to its production,” she said.
“If a producer uses AI appropriately and still understands what people like, then the song will do well.”
Mainga doesn’t see AI posing a threat to music production and artistes’ chances of receiving radio airplay.
It will only replace lazy artistes who are unwilling to step out of their comfort zones and embrace emerging technology to refine their craft, she said.
“I don’t want to attend a concert with AI-generated music; I want to experience the human voice and enjoy the music,” she said.
“If artistes can find a way to make AI and human creativity work together, it can make music even richer and more compelling.”
She believes AI will find its place in the bigger space of the media sector. It will not scrap the music that has been studio-recorded.
“Whatever plays on air is largely determined by listener’s preferences,” Mainga said.
AI IN NEWSROOM
Allan Kisia, a digital and print journalist with the Star, said AI has become a valuable resource in the newsroom and particularly in his tasks.
He says he uses various AI tools to edit his stories and research background information that enriches his reporting.
“AI has made work in the newsroom easier, as it can quickly provide additional information that is key while writing stories,” Kisia said.
“It also helps in devising headlines and suggesting angles and ideas for stories.”
He said AI has a bright future in journalism, not as a replacement but as a tool to streamline how news is produced.
Mark Gitau, a renowned Kiswahili newsreader on Radio Jambo, said AI has significantly eased his workload by simplifying the translation of news items.
He commends the development of AI tools that understand Kiswahili, saying they make his work easier and can efficiently transcribe audio to text for proper scripting.
“Its use has been shown to simplify work and enhance journalism, and it is increasingly being prioritised over traditional methods of producing programmes,” he said.
The technology has also been resourceful to Paul Muchoki, a renowned Inooro TV news anchor. He says AI plays a key role in enhancing research for his TV weekly explainer news programme.
“I use it to gather information and then compare it with what I find on other platforms to create a comprehensive yet simple report for the audience,” he explained.
“It also helps me simplify voluminous documents, though I must do a fact-check as it can provide inaccurate information.”
Despite working for a vernacular station, he encourages colleagues to embrace AI, saying the future is AI as more tools are being developed for vernacular languages.
“We should embrace it even in vernacular and over time, it will improve, just as AI has learned to better understand Kiswahili,” he said.
AI IN MEDIA SCHOOL
Roy Khaemba, a media school lecturer at a local university, says AI uptake in media schools is steadily increasing, with many students already incorporating the technology into their coursework.
“We are receiving it positively because you can’t resist valuable technology,” he said.
“Students mainly use AI to edit their projects after production, and in a way, it also helps provide ideas that enhance their creativity.”
However, he notes that the growing reliance on AI is making some students lazy and weakening their commitment to rigorous research and independent thinking.
He emphasised the need to regulate AI usage to prevent abuse, calling for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to develop clear and adaptive guidelines, especially given the technology’s rapid evolution.
Kevin Kabue, an IT expert, says AI’s applications extend far beyond media to sectors such as medicine, agriculture and hospitality.
“In simple terms, AI is a system or software designed to make life easier. In media, it can help edit stories, transcribe content and perform many other tasks,” he said.
He stresses, however, that AI is not perfect and must be used carefully.
“You have to train AI to help you achieve your goals,” Kabue says. “AI doesn’t know your end goal, you do.”
Kabue echoed concerns that AI can be misused, particularly in the media industry. The technology can create fake news, images and videos that appear authentic.
He urged professionals to verify the accuracy and objectivity of AI-generated information.
Kabue noted a lag in reflecting African culture, but said professionals are being deployed to train AI in African languages and cultural contexts.
Despite AI’s expanding influence, he said it is unlikely to replace human labour.
“There is something AI does not have, which is life. It lacks the human touch and in media, you still need to compose stories with your own thinking, then guide AI on how to assist you,” he said.
Media Council of Kenya CEO David Omwoyo has commended Kenyan media for taking significant steps toward integrating AI in their operations.
He described its uptake as commendable, given the fast-evolving nature of the technology.
Omwoyo also praised media schools for incorporating AI into their training but emphasised the need to review the relevance of media courses to newsroom practices.
He said as a regulator, MCK has developed guidelines to ensure the ethical use of AI in journalism.
He called on journalists to adopt its use, adding that AI-literate journalists will eventually replace those who are not familiar with the technology.
The media code of conduct for AI use in the Kenyan media requires that any AI-generated content be fair, unbiased, accurate and free from harmful stereotypes.
It must respect intellectual property rights, avoid misinformation or disinformation, and refrain from cloning the likeness, voice or persona of any individual without their informed consent.
LEARN OR LOSE JOB
Francis Mureithi, digital editor at Radio Africa Group, said AI has been particularly helpful in automating tasks traditionally done manually by journalists.
“AI can help newsrooms automate functions that previously took journalists a lot of time,” he said.
“For example, in editing, a sub editor doesn’t need to spend 15 minutes refining a story. With the right prompts, AI can edit the story perfectly to your specifications.”
Mureithi says AI can support various newsroom functions, including data processing, generating story leads, drafting stories and writing, as long as the journalist owns the data.
AI can also be used in the field for recording, transcribing and transforming raw content into polished stories.
“It depends on how you use AI. It actually enhances creativity because you provide an idea, and it helps to expand it,” he said.
“It helps journalists process interviews and organise stories faster, while still relying on their expertise.”
However, AI has not been fully embraced in the newsroom. Mureithi estimates the adoption rate at 30 per cent of the workforce in the media houses embracing it.
He believes some organisations fear the technology and potential copyright challenges. However, he argues that avoiding AI reflects a lack of forward thinking.
“It is wrong to deny journalists the chance to experiment and learn how AI can help them write better stories without compromising quality, accuracy and objectivity,” he said.
He believes those who explore it will see its value.
“People think AI will take their jobs. Journalists should view AI as a tool to make their work bigger and better,” Mureithi said.
“For example, if I were doing five stories in a day and now I file 15, the better, and that’s productivity.”
He urged journalists to embrace AI or perish.
“If you are a journalist and you don’t know how to use AI, you are likely going to be replaced by a journalist who knows how to use it,” he said.
He, however, points out ethical issues as a major challenge associated with AI if not properly utilised.
Another challenge is the stereotyping of data and the propagation of negative information about certain groups of people or cultures, due to the system being a foreign product.
He also acknowledges that voice cloning could render newsreaders and professional voiceover artistes jobless.
The future of AI in newsrooms is uncertain due to its evolving nature, he said, but he foresees changes in roles and workflows in the newsroom.
He urged media schools to move faster to integrate AI in the curriculum, adding that student interns who join his team are trained on how to use different AI tools.
