“AI’s Good, but People Have Hearts”: Artificial Intelligence in Data-Driven Journalism in Ghanaian Newsrooms

Theodora Dame Adjin-Tettey and Samuel Danso
Additional contact information
Theodora Dame Adjin-Tettey: Department of Media, Language and Communication, Durban University of Technology, South Africa
Samuel Danso: Department of Film and Multimedia Communication, African University of Communications and Business, Ghana

Media and Communication, 2026, vol. 14

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) offers tremendous potential to advance data journalism by empowering journalists to analyse massive datasets and produce insights for investigative reporting. Through the lens of the technology acceptance model and the social construction of technology theory, this study employed qualitative methods to investigate how Ghanaian journalists adopt AI tools in data journalism. The findings indicate that AI tools are primarily used to support research, idea generation, editing, story development, and visual data representation. Journalists also perceive AI as enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and storytelling capacity. These perceptions align with the perceived usefulness dimension of the technology acceptance model as AI is viewed as improving productivity and strengthening audience engagement and trust. However, several challenges, including high subscription costs, limited availability of context-specific datasets, and persistent ethical concerns, hinder the adoption of AI technologies in data journalism. We argue that these challenges highlight the social context within which technology is adopted, which the social construction of technology theory accounts for.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; data journalism; Ghana; journalism; newsrooms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/12388 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:meanco:v14:y:2026:a:12388

DOI: 10.17645/mac.12388

Access Statistics for this article

Media and Communication is currently edited by Raquel Silva

More articles in Media and Communication from Cogitatio Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by António Vieira () and IT Department ().