From Symbolic Declassification to Hybrid Capital: The Case of Artificial Intelligence in Algerian Journalism

Abstract

This study examines how Algerian journalists perceive and appropriate artificial intelligence (AI) in their professional practices, highlighting mechanisms of symbolic downgrading and recomposition of professional capital. It explores how these processes differ according to age, experience, and position within the journalistic field. Using qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews and media content analysis, the findings show that AI is viewed both as an opportunity to enhance professional status and as a threat to symbolic legitimacy. Senior journalists tend to integrate AI to reinforce their cultural and social capital, while younger journalists leverage it to create hybrid capital combining technical expertise and recognition. This research contributes to the sociology of professions and the study of journalism in Algeria, emphasizing the tensions between technological innovation, symbolic hierarchies, and professional transformation.