A brand new report takes a step back from the heated debate around generative AI in journalism, to shine a light on how local publishers are using rules-based (the other kind!) AI to support a number of editorial processes. "Practical AI for Local Media" (sponsored by United Robots) was written by the team at Media Voices, who publish a weekly media podcast and daily curated newsletter. For the report, the authors have interviewed a number of publishers who already have several years of experience working with AI in the newsroom, for processes like personalization and content generation. It covers everything from how to get started, to strategy, setting KPIs and metrics, the importance of a human in the loop and transparency, as well as the actual quality and efficiency gains in each case.
The teams at Media Voices and United Robots started talking about creating this report back in the summer of 2022. Little did we know that by Christmas, the news industry would disrupt in discussions about the use of AI in newsrooms, at an intensity we’ve never seen before. The launch of ChatGPT brought with it sudden awareness and lots of speculation about the possible good and ills to come of AI in the context of publishing.
United Robots has worked in this space for eight years now, deploying automated content as well as educating the industry on the values AI and automation can bring to the business of journalism. From our standpoint, it’s not about whether AI is the savior or an enemy, it’s about solving actual problems in local newsrooms like freeing up journalists’ time, expanding local coverage and providing more relevant content to each reader. Each of the publisher cases in the report is a good practical illustration of what that looks like.
Against the backdrop of the recent furor, we hope this report will constitute a source of steady, constructive and practical information for media companies, not least those who are at the beginning of their AI and automation journey. There is so much to be gained by taking a pragmatic approach to the topic. The lessons already learned by publishers and shared in this report is a perfect starting point.
"Practical AI for Local Media" is free to download here.
