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Generative Visual AI in Swiss Journalism: Exploring Production and Audience Perspectives Through a Mixed-Methods Design

  • Project team: Sina Blassnig and Seraina Tarnutzer (IDCMI, Unifr/FHGR); project partner: Silke Fürst (IKMZ, University of Zurich)
  • Duration: 01.06.2026 – 31.05.2030
  • Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

 

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) – that is, technologies that generate new content such as text, images or videos based on training data – is becoming increasingly prevalent in many areas of society. In journalism in particular, AI-powered tools are opening up new possibilities for visual news production. At the same time, they raise questions about quality, ethics, and impact.

This research project investigates how generative visual AI is used in journalistic practice in Switzerland, what types of AI-generated images are produced, and how these are perceived by media professionals and the public. The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of how the use of such technologies affects visual communication in journalism.

The project combines theoretical approaches from journalism and visual communication research with an innovative methodological design. Qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as participatory visual techniques, are employed across two work packages:

  • Work Package I: Media professionals from selected Swiss newsrooms will keep visual diaries to document the use of AI-generated images. In addition, expert interviews will be conducted to shed light on opportunities, challenges and changes in journalistic practice. This will be followed by a representative survey of Swiss media professionals across all three language regions.
  • Work Package II: In focus groups, media users from German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino will discuss their perceptions of AI-generated images in journalism. This will be followed by a representative survey of Swiss media users across all three language regions.

The findings are intended to provide well-founded insights into a topic that has been little researched to date but is highly topical. They aim to demonstrate how generative visual AI is used in Swiss newsrooms, how such content is designed and how it is received by different target groups. Furthermore, the project offers practical recommendations for media professionals, decision-makers and educational institutions on the responsible use of this technology. Particular attention is also being paid to communicating the research findings to the public – including through a workshop with representatives from all three linguistic regions of Switzerland.