The Evolving Landscape of Print Journalism in India: Opportunities and Challenges in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.82471/ybafa-28e68

Print journalism worldwide is facing unprecedented pressure due to rapid digital transformation and the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in content production, distribution and audience engagement. In most other global markets, print circulation has been declining but India’s print sector has been relatively more resilient, even as digital media emerges as the primary channel to access news. This study examines the opportunities and challenges facing Indian print media as AI-driven transformation reshape the wider news ecosystem. This study adopts a qualitative, literature-based approach. The evidence was drawn from three categories of secondary sources: (i) national industry and regulatory data – the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the FICCI-EY India Media & Entertainment Report and the Press Registrar General of India (PRGI); (ii) international comparative survey data – the Reuters Institute Digital News Report and Pew Research Center’s reporting on youth news habits; and (iii) peer-reviewed and published scholarship on digital and AI-driven journalism. India’s internet subscriber base crossed 1.03 billion by December 2025 (TRAI) and digital advertising makes up about two-thirds of total media ad spend. Yet print advertising revenue in India grew by a modest ~2% in 2025, even as subscription and circulation revenue continued a slow decline of roughly 1% (FICCI-EY, 2026). This pattern, modest but resilient, not the "tremendous growth" sometimes claimed in trade commentary, and not collapse either; sits in contrast to sharper print declines recorded internationally. The resilience of Indian print media, which is an anomaly in the global context, seems linked to the relatively lower cost of newsprint as a proportion of household income, a voracious readership in regional languages and the credibility of print vis-à-vis digital and social media.

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