Reporters at newsrooms both locally and nationally are using artificial intelligence for a variety of reasons, and that includes The Philadelphia Inquirer, writes Alexandra Bruell for The Wall Street Journal.
While many newsrooms see chatbots and AI-powered search engines as a threat, others are finding ways to use it to their advantage.
Last year, The Philadelphia Inquirer launched newsletters in four nearby areas they hadn’t been covering much using AI for assistance.
The Inquirer‘s chief technology and product officer Matt Boggie said AI can provide an opportunity for the publication’s growth after years of reducing the paper’s footprint.
“If we go into these areas and can give context people appreciate, they’re more likely to become paying subscribers to the paper,” he said.
This is especially true given that its newsletters are “a massive subscription driver,” he added.
As of now, the plan is to have eight more AI-assisted newsletters that will be overseen by two new staffers.
In newsrooms across other the nation, reporters are using AI to help them save time on notoriously time-consuming tasks, such as transcribing.
However, the main point to remember is that AI is simply a tool, not a replacement for human reporting and reporters.
Read more about how news outlets are leveraging AI in their reporting and coverage expansion at The Wall Street Journal.
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