Strategies for AI implementation in local newsrooms: typology and organizational context

Thе study examines how Russian local newspapers adopt generative AI amid chronic resource shortages and institutional constraints. Drawing on 12 semistructured interviews with editors-in-chief from eight federal districts, it proposes a four-fold typology of AI strategies – enthusiasts, experimenters, observers and sceptics – and maps them onto Porter’s classic value chain. Automation is concentrated on “narrow” tasks (audio transcription, error correction, image generation), whereas strategic domains – data monitoring, fact-checking and UGC services – remain largely untouched. The decisive factor in AI uptake is not ownership form but dependence on budget contracts, entrenched business models and willingness to change newsroom culture. Paradoxically, the greatest automation potential lies in those value-chain stages where AI has not yet been deployed. The findings deepen understanding of local-press digital transformation and provide guidance for governmental and industry support of small newsrooms.