Product

Exploring AI-Powered Local Newsrooms

Generative AI is transforming all kinds of industries, including local news. Newsrooms need to know what tools to trust, how best to use them, and what they might cost. Automation can aid writers, create images, detect patterns in data, identify potential news events, promote content, convert articles to email newsletters and much more. Local news needs a playbook for automation.

In the first phase of this Knight Lab Studio project, students will work with Knight Lab faculty and staff to identify GenAI-powered tools and systems (including those still in development) that might be useful for local newsrooms. Then they will develop a prototype news website and test out these tools telling actual stories about Northwestern and/or Evanston.

Faculty and Staff Leads

Jeremy Gilbert

Knight Professor in Digital Media Strategy

Jeremy Gilbert is the Knight Professor of Digital Media Strategy. Both his work and teaching focus on the content and revenue strategies of existing and emerging media companies. He explores the intersection of technology and media, examining how new tools and techniques will affect the creation, consumption and distribution of media.

Joe Germuska

Chief Nerd

Joe runs Knight Lab’s technology, professional staff and student fellows. Before joining us, Joe was on the Chicago Tribune News Apps team. He is the founder of CensusReporter.org, and a proud board member of City Bureau.

Project Details

2024 Spring

Important Questions
  • What GenAI-powered tools and systems are relevant to news production or promotion?
  • Which of the available tools has the most potential to aid newsrooms?
  • Are there potential risks from any proposed automation tools? How can those consequences be mitigated or managed?
  • What are the impacts on local news production from relying on GenAI tools?
Sample Milestones
  • Week 1-3: Identify and categorize available GenAI tools relevant to news production and dissemination. Read existing reviews of tools. Familiarize the team with newsroom workflows. Experiment with the tools.
  • Week 4-10: Prototype a local news website using GenAI to produce daily, geographically-local news stories, distribute and promote them.
  • Week 8-10: Craft a guide detailing what tools and methods were most successful and why — including output examples. Also create recommendations for where small news creators should work with GenAI.
Outcome

Students who participate in this project will understand more about the potential of GenAI tools to help with local news production. They will develop practical experience telling stories with these tools and promoting those stories on other platforms.

Resources and Readings