Bridging Languages with Machines: AI, Translation, and Journalism Practice among Marathi Journalists in Solapur, India

Abstract

DOI: https://doi.org/10.82471/0bcna-e7b53

The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in media production is reshaping journalism, particularly in multilingual societies like India where translation is a core professional task. AI tools are now being used in newsrooms to accelerate content creation and support translation across languages. However, most existing research focuses on large, English-language media organizations, leaving regional-language journalism largely unexplored. This study focuses on Marathi journalists in Solapur City, Maharashtra, and examines how they use AI tools in their daily work and how those tools influence journalistic practice. Using a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten journalists working across print, digital, and broadcast media. Thematic analysis of the data reveals that AI tools are widely adopted for speed and efficiency but consistently fail to capture cultural nuances, idiomatic expressions, and dialectal variety in Marathi. Journalists maintain editorial oversight and do not fully surrender judgment to AI systems. The study concludes that AI can usefully support regional journalism but cannot substitute for human cultural understanding.

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