The dangers and possibilities of AI in the news industry  

AI continues to play a role in the media industry — with mixed results. In Oregon, articles have been continuously published by the Ashland Daily Tidings, despite the outlet going out of business in 2023. All of the articles — some published under real journalists’ names — were written by AI, reports Ryan Haas for public broadcaster OPB. Some of it was plagiarized from local nonprofit Ashland.news or from OPB itself. The source of these articles is unclear, although lawyers believe that the content is being produced in China. 

In The Verge, Elizabeth Lopatto highlights the problem with using ChatGPT for research, citing several examples of the chatbot hallucinating past presidential pardons. And for Poynter, Jerome Socolovsky reflects on how Google’s NotebookLM does a passable job at producing a “deep dive” podcast based on audio clips, but it can never recreate the empathy necessary to tell compelling, meaningful audio stories. 

But some in media are still eager to experiment with AI. Joe Amditis of the Center for Cooperative Media has published an updated guide for small newsrooms to integrate LLMs into their workflows. AI collaboration platform Hugging Face wants to help journalists use open-source AI to better customize tools for their needs, reports Marina Adami for the Reuters Institute. And at Yale Law School, the school’s defense clinic is looking into AI tools that could help documentary filmmakers and independent journalists better defend themselves against libel suits, according to a piece in the Columbia Journalism Review by Judith Matloff. 

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> Weakened US public broadcasters will fight for their lives in 2025 (Semafor)

Republicans may be more successful in their battle to curb federal funding for public media during the next Trump administration. As NPR and PBS have seen their audience numbers diminish, Republicans are making the argument that there is simply no need for public media in the current landscape. 

>> Brendan Carr, soon to be FCC chair, says commission will back local TV stations “even if that’s in conflict” with broadcast networks (Deadline) 

In an interview, Carr said that he would “empower” local news affiliates to push back on national network programming, which may appeal to local station owners who feel network programming doesn’t always fit with the tastes of their local viewers. 

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Culture & Inclusion

>> The trouble with billionaires, especially media owners (Substack, Margaret Sullivan)

Former Washington Post media critic and New York Times public editor Margaret Sulivan writes that she is worried by the increasing interference in editorial policies by billionaire newspaper owners. “[W]hen journalism is in the hands of the self-serving rich, we have a huge and growing problem,” she writes. 

+ Dig Deeper: Soon-Shiong and Bezos provide fresh evidence for the downsides of billionaire news ownership (Poynter) 

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> Notice how news influencers format content (Trusting News) 

As news influencers become more popular with younger audiences, news outlets can learn from how they package their content. News content on social media prioritizes efficiency and usefulness; consistency and clear expectations; entertainment and humanity; and feedback from users. 

>> Top Washington Post editor kills article on deputy’s departure (NPR)

Former Washington Post managing editor Matea Gold recently announced that she was leaving the paper, likely after it became clear that she would not be named the new top editor. But acting executive editor Matt Murray declined to cover Gold’s departure, arguing that the paper should not cover itself.

>> Good Conflict: A new way to deal with people who complain about politics and the news (Good Conflict)

You probably know somebody who complains about the news media — or politics or any number of other things — over and over again. There’s nothing wrong with venting, but what do you do when the person just feels stuck and you’re having a tough time communicating with them? Try responding with these conversation starters to lead to more interesting discussions.

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Revenue & Resilience

>> New from API: A look back at the Better News podcast (Better News) 

Since August 2019, the Better News podcast has highlighted many of the news organizations that featured in the American Press Institute’s Better News Initiative. In this special year-end episode, Jan Ross Sakian, API’s Table Stakes community manager, joins host Michael O’Connell to wrap-up the sixth and final season of the Better News podcast.

+ Related: Better News podcast: Final episode looks back at 6 seasons (Better News) 

>> New from API: Apply for the Table Stakes Revenue Experiments Cohort Grant

The American Press Institute would like to award $5,000 to up to eight U.S. Table Stakes Alumni news organizations to support experiments that further develop a revenue stream for their organization. Fill out this form by this Friday, Dec. 13. This opportunity is funded by The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund.

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What else you need to know

📺 Matt Gaetz to have show on One American News Network (CBS News) 

⚖️ Rupert Murdoch fails in bid to change family trust (The New York Times) 

🩺 Health and medicine publication STAT lays off 11 employees (The Boston Globe) 

🫱🏽‍🫲🏿 Taylor Lorenz and Vox are parting ways (Semafor) 

📰 Paul Krugman retires as Times columnist (The New York Times Company)