Abstract:
The headways in Artificial Intelligence have impacted on every aspect of society especially
communications which is a vital part of any civilisation. AI revolution in multimedia
applications have now become a means of guaranteeing stress reduction, speed,
performance and in the face of a pandemic such as the Covid-19 a safe avenue for
journalists. But sadly as a result of the issues faced by developing countries such as
Nigeria, journalists are not current with innovations that will lessen the load of
seemingly routine duties in the newsroom and collaborate with new technologies in order
to stay relevant. In light of this, the purpose of this research was to examine journalists’
perception on how robot journalism can (or has) transformed journalism. Hinged on the
mediamorphosis theory, the study utilised quantitative survey as 389 former and current
media practitioners were chosen through a purposive sampling technique. The research
discovered that most Nigerian journalists though familiar with the concept of robot
journalism believe Nigerians are not adequately prepared for its adoption. It was
established that automation is the way of the future, and Nigerian journalists cannot
afford to be consigned to oblivion in the final shift to an automated world, so they must be
acquainted to embrace robot journalism. This study recommends that while media
practitioners try to grapple with the reality of automated journalism and with concerns
on the uncertainties such as pandemics, practitioners need to keep up with technology as
supportive techs in their jobs in light of the Covid-19 protocols, around social distancing,
ban on travels to ensure they stay on top of major happening without becoming victims.
