AI in the Newsroom: Case Study Series
Published December 2, 2024
The Online News Association’s AI in Journalism Initiative delivers essential resources for journalists to understand and focus on the technology trends most relevant to their work. For the AI in the Newsroom series, we curated 10 case studies covering specific ways news organizations are building and using AI tools. The case studies feature lessons from news teams in the U.S., Norway, Germany and elsewhere, and were originally delivered as a limited-run email series from August–October 2024. Each one was researched and written by Nikita Roy, ICFJ Knight Fellow and Newsroom Robots Podcast Host.
Djinn, an AI-powered Data Journalism Interface
iTromsø, a small Norwegian newsroom that is part of the Polaris Media group, has developed an AI-powered data journalism interface called “Djinn” to enhance its newsgathering and notifications process. The tool is designed to assist journalists in finding, analyzing and summarizing news stories efficiently.
How Hearst Newspapers built an AI-powered, Slack-based Tool to Help with Digital Content Production
Launched by Hearst Newspapers, Producer-P is a Slack-based tool leveraging OpenAI’s GPT-4 and fine-tuned GPT-3.5-Turbo models to assist journalists in creating optimized headlines, SEO titles, URLs, related links, and notification summaries across several newsrooms.
Enhancing Fact-Checking with AI at Der Spiegel
The Spiegel Group, one of Germany’s most influential media companies, has built out an AI tool to support their fact-checking process. Their experimental AI fact-checking system aims to automate routine verification tasks, potentially improving efficiency and accuracy while maintaining journalistic integrity and leveraging human expertise. Currently in beta, the tool is being considered for a broader rollout.
Transforming Workflows with AI at Zamaneh Media
Zamaneh Media, a small Dutch-based newsroom focusing on Persian-language content, embraced AI to overcome challenges in news production and translation. The newsroom developed two AI-driven tools—Newsletter Hero and Samurai—that significantly streamlined their workflows. Despite a small team of just two people with limited technical backgrounds, they managed to innovate and improve the newsroom’s efficiency by reducing the time spent on routine tasks like newsletter creation and translating long Persian articles into English.
Building AI Literacy at Canada’s National Public Broadcaster Radio-Canada
In September 2023, Radio-Canada launched a comprehensive AI literacy training program aimed at enhancing the newsroom’s understanding and application of AI technologies. This case study delves into the program’s development, implementation, and impact.
How Bayerischer Rundfunk Used Modular Journalism to Personalize Radio News Based on Location
Launched by Germany’s Public Broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), BR Regional Update is an innovative service that delivers personalized radio news content based on listeners’ locations. This service represents a significant shift in how radio news is produced and consumed, breaking down traditional broadcasts into modular, geo-tagged segments.
Sweden’s Aftonbladet Built AI-Driven Editorial Tools and an Election Chatbot
In 2023, Aftonbladet, Scandinavia’s largest newspaper, launched an AI Hub to experiment with artificial intelligence. The hub’s most notable project was the development of an election chatbot for the EU elections, designed to engage their audience and answer their questions in real time.
THE CITY’s AI-Powered Coverage Audit and Navigation Tool
In late 2023, THE CITY, a New York-based newsroom, launched an AI-driven project to audit their hyperlocal news coverage over four years and develop a navigation tool. This project aimed to analyze coverage patterns and deliver a new user experience by leveraging AI’s text processing capabilities to identify local geographical context. The project was recognized as a finalist for the 2024 Online Journalism Awards in the AI Innovation category.
Using AI to Analyze Open-Source Intelligence in Ukraine War Reporting
In 2023, BBC World Service’s open source investigations team used AI to sift through vast amounts of online data, uncovering insights about a Russian military unit. This case study details how AI tools streamlined the analysis of social media, news reports, and videos, leading to a BBC Eye Investigation documentary that won the Online Journalism Award for Excellence in AI Innovation.
How The Times of India Brings Real-Time Personalization to 1,500+ Daily News Stories
The Times of India built Signals—an in-house recommendation system that personalizes content based on user preferences, recent news trends, and engagement data. This case study outlines their experience creating a scalable, adaptable, and audience-centered personalization model that has transformed readers’ interactions with news content.
Funding for ONA’s AI in Journalism Initiative is generously provided by Microsoft, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and The Joyce Foundation. Collaborators on trainings and events have included experts from The Globe and Mail, Hearken, Journalists’ Toolbox, National Press Photographers Association, Der Spiegel, The New York Times, Poynter Institute, Trusting News, TulipAI, The Washington Post and many others. Learn more about the initiative.
