AI community news: Local journalism in the age of artificial intelligence

Abstract This exploratory study analyzes the perceptions, uses, and representations of artificial intelligence (AI) among Italian local journalists, with the aim of understanding how this technology is perceived, adopted, or rejected within a sector that is already structurally fragile. A qualitative methodology using seven focus groups, involving 25 journalists from five Italian regions between February and May 2025, was employed to conduct a thematic analysis of the responses, enriched by an interpretative approach inspired by the sociology of journalism. The results reveal a high level of theoretical knowledge of AI among journalists, that is accompanied by minimal operational use and widespread cultural reluctance to integrate it into core professional practices. AI is only accepted at the margins of information production (e.g., graphics, titling, and social content), and there is still resistance to considering it a legitimate tool for journalistic processing. This resistance takes the form of not only technical reticence but also an identity strategy to preserve the epistemic autonomy of the profession. The paper proposes an interpretation of these dynamics through a generative sociological perspective aimed at overcoming the binary opposition between the acceptance and rejection of technology, and at promoting co-constructed, critical, and contextualized forms of innovation.