Artificial Intelligence in 2024: A Thematic Analysis of Media Coverage

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dc.contributor.authorWilliams, Lukeen
dc.contributor.committeechairMyers, Marcus Cayceen
dc.contributor.committeememberKuypers, Jim A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberLogan, Nnekaen
dc.contributor.departmentCommunicationen
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-29T08:02:05Zen
dc.date.available2025-05-29T08:02:05Zen
dc.date.issued2025-05-28en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis investigates how three agenda-setting U.S. newspapers — The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post — framed artificial intelligence (AI) during the year 2024. Using an inductive thematic analysis grounded in Braun and Clarke's six-phase procedure, 300 randomly-selected articles (100 per outlet) were analyzed and interpreted as media frames. Eight dominant frames emerged: AI Boom vs. Bubble, Misuse and Misinformation, Ethical and Moral Challenges, Policy and Governance, Societal and Cultural Impact, Work and Automation, Environmental Impact, and Technological Advancements and Future Risks. Across coverage, fear narratives centered on disinformation, job displacement, algorithmic bias, environmental costs, and existential risk. Results suggest that U.S. legacy media have moved beyond early techno-optimism towards a more nuanced discourse that simultaneously fuels investment and adoption, demands regulation and safeguards, and shapes public perception. These findings document how narratives evolve in response to rapid technological change and provide information for scholars, policymakers, and technologists seeking to understand how media discourse may steer AI governance and adoption.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralArtificial intelligence (AI), increasingly capable of creating text, images, audio, and video that is indistinguishable from that produced by humans, dominated news coverage in 2024. Understanding how the media covers AI helps us comprehend public attitudes and policy responses to these powerful technologies. This study analyzed how three major U.S. newspapers—The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post—reported on AI throughout the year 2024. By analyzing 300 randomly chosen articles (100 from each paper), the research identified common themes: including debates over whether AI will bring economic prosperity or create an economic bubble, concerns about misuse and misinformation, ethical challenges involving privacy and fairness, impacts on jobs and society, and more. The research also found systematic differences in coverage between newspapers, revealing editorial choices and perspectives that shape narratives. These media narratives impact how the public perceives AI and influences debates around technology adoption. Recognizing these media patterns can help us navigate the current conversation on AI and understand the complex realities and societal impacts of these emerging technologies.en
dc.description.degreeMACOMen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:44170en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/134281en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectframing theoryen
dc.subjectthematic analysisen
dc.subjectartificial intelligenceen
dc.subjectAIen
dc.subject2024en
dc.titleArtificial Intelligence in 2024: A Thematic Analysis of Media Coverageen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCommunicationen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMACOMen

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