Generative AI is changing hiring at news companies in countries like India, where many people speak English as their second or third language. English-language publications, which have traditionally catered to the educated elite and hired from the educated elite, are no longer necessarily looking for people who write well in English.

What has changed? 

Here’s an example from Rohit Saran, managing editor at The Times of India, which has a network of about 500 reporters spread across different regions of India and was part of the recent INMA South Asia News Media Festival. These reporters speak Hindi and regional languages well, but their English is not equally or uniformly strong — so the news brand needs about 400 editors to handle their copy so it can be rewritten in clear English and run past the reporters before publication.

The reporters now file their copy by dictating five bullet points into their phones in their own languages. The Times’ GenAI tool transforms that into 300 words in English and suggests three headlines. 

“Nothing goes out without at least two pairs of eyes on it, but the editing time has been drastically reduced,” Saran said.

Language is no longer a barrier, so news organisations can focus on finding experts in different fields instead.

“We are now looking for people with deep domain expertise, and we only hire people who can work well with technology,” said Nalin Mehta, editor-in-chief at MoneyControl.com. “We look at your attitude, not your technological skills — because technology is constantly changing.”

Saran agreed: “We are looking for full-stack journalists now.”

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