THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON THE OPERATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES - A SURVEY STUDY

Abstract Global news agencies have undergone a sea change as a result of the digital revolution, with significant changes to both editorial and organizational structures, but the processes for the production and distribution of news content have also changed fundamentally. This research sought to investigate how this transformation affected the quality of the content, editorial performance, and the credibility of the media. One hundred and twenty staff were purposively sampled from five of the world's leading international news agencies (Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Xinhua, and Bloomberg). A descriptive-analytical type of research with a cross-sectional method was applied, and the research data was gathered by an intensive and reliable research questionnaire from three dimensions, including quality of content, executive and managerial performance, and media reliability. Data were statistically analyzed by dedicated software (SPSS) and processed in the form of means, standard deviations, t-test, and one-way ANOVA. Results confirmed that transformation has a statistically significant effect on the quality of news content, in the sense that it is generally perceived by participants as being a factor that makes the coverage of news more accurate and faster, as it contributes to the diversity in the coverage of news material. Editorial and administration processes benefited from increased efficiencies gained through automated tasks and AI technology, especially in resource administration and data analysis. As to trust, we found that public trust was partially positively affected, in the face of problems such as fake news and publishing algorithms. The study suggests the need for ongoing investment in staff digital skills and editorial policies that move towards a flexible approach of finding the right mix of technology and journalism.