The RAW quality or AF speed don't change with ML, but there are a few features that might be useful for a photojournalist:
- The auto exposure module is useful if you want a bit more control than just using AV or TV mode (assuming manual mode is not an option in all situations). It's basically a vastly improved P mode, where you can set a min and max AV, TV, ISO and exposure compensation for every EV.
- Dual ISO could be useful for high dynamic range situations. Bracketing your exposure is not always an option, but this can give you ~3 more stops of DR in exchange for slightly reduced vertical resolution.
- Automatic mirror lockup could sometimes be useful to reduce camera shake. It really depends on the situation.
- Trap focus is quite useful for sports, if that's one of your subjects.
These are the ones I can think of right now... There are probably a few more minor tweaks that make life as a photographer easier. Video may be the main focus of ML, but that doesn't mean that it's useless for still images.
