Perplexity is excited to announce our first philanthropic venture: a gift to Northwestern's @MedillSchool@knightlab. This research will continue exploring how journalists can responsibly use AI and other ways tech and news companies can collaborate. Learn more https://t.co/kejVa7rXtF
Tough news for Axios yesterday with its first-ever layoffs, citing “shifting reader behavior" and "AI". This is a brutal wake-up call for the media industry. While it is unfortunate because it impacts so many talented journalists, the reality is that language models excel at versioning, transforming a format into something specific—be it Axios’s smart brevity or BuzzFeed’s listicles.
The era of differentiating solely on content formats and editorial voice is over. Original reporting, proprietary data, and a strong technology backbone will be crucial as AI becomes ubiquitous in newsrooms.
This development at Axios is particularly noteworthy and, in a way, ironic given Axios’ previous stance on AI in their manifesto: “Every item will be written or produced by a real person with a real identity. There will be NO AI-written stories. NO bots. NO fake accounts.”
It also highlights the need for media companies to embrace AI as a tool for scaling content and reaching wider audiences. This doesn’t negate the invaluable role of journalists in original reporting and newsgathering—skills AI cannot replicate. Instead, it suggests a symbiotic relationship where AI enhances the reach and impact of journalistic work.Newsrooms will have to reimagine their workforce in the age of AI, and that doesn’t have to mean layoffs. Instead, they can allocate more resources to newsgathering roles, lighten roles related to editing and copy, and transition into roles like “editorial prompt engineers,” leveraging their expertise to guide AI in content creation. The future of media lies in a blend of human ingenuity and AI capabilities: adapt to technological advancements or risk being left behind.
https://t.co/YStU1JoQMJ
Concurrently with being a Nieman fellow, I'll also be joining the Berkman Klein Center at Havard for 2024-25. Looking forward to jamming with these cool cats...
“As a sector, we need to agree how we expect students to use and acknowledge the role of AI in their work. The same is true of the wider use of AI in other areas of life to prevent a crisis of trust across society.” https://t.co/sOA2EiCzOQ
Postdoc Alert! We're recruiting a postdoc to work on generative AI & news production. Get your applications in this week for best consideration. Details here: https://t.co/MLEUgX912L
Super excited to have a chance to enhance https://t.co/MwXyZLUhX8 with help from the Knight Foundation and in collaboration with @jeremygilbert https://t.co/yjn76nGC9e
"I’m not afraid of AI as a journalist," @phoebedoris told @decka227 in their conversation about prompt training, AI anxieties, and her first-of-its-kind role as senior editor for AI strategy and innovation at The Washington Post.
https://t.co/zmMFxBe8ul
Hearst Newspapers is looking for a Newsroom AI & Automation Engineer. $100k.
"develop editorial tools & reader-facing projects that harness generative AI" including a newsletter assistant, an automated-alert system & a user-facing generative AI chatbot.
https://t.co/MJjhIObQC7
What do the next gen of news consumers want? And how can producers respond to those needs?
ICYMI @FTStrategies (where I work) published a report w/ @MedillSchool that tries to answer this question.
It builds on some excellent research that I want to give a shout out to.
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Journalism needs leaders who know how to run a business.
These are the five crucial skills for the next generation of media leaders in the era of community-centric journalism. https://t.co/GQTe2plvVo
Launched today: our new @StarTribune "Curious Minnesota" collection that tracks every question we've answered in 5 years in this nifty database:
https://t.co/kKdFF0tM0x
Great work by @StribRoper & team.
Loving this report from @FtStrategies@knightlab and @GoogleNewsInit that identifies emergent behaviors, modes of consumption, and insights from the next generation of news consumers.
👀News Product thinkers bookmark this!
@xhgMattia is absolutely right, media creators who make that are a poor fit for news consumers cannot then complain that news consumers won’t support news creation. Tools alone won’t solve a lack of product fit.
“We can only reinvent journalism by embracing the fact that our mission is to provide a service built on listening. If we focus ruthlessly on that mission and give up old self-sabotaging habits, then AI might actually be of some help.” https://t.co/AgcavbaAyk