What began as a casual experiment with creative AI technology within publishers’ newsrooms has become a full-fledged emphasis area for several media businesses. BuzzFeed, BridgeTower Media, Forbes, Ingenio, and Trusted Media Brands are forming new teams. They are dedicated to monitoring AI initiatives in various aspects of their businesses, from editorial to technology.
Editorial leaders told Digiday in February that they were pushing personnel in their newsrooms. It is done to become acquainted with dynamic AI and chatbots such as ChatGPT. The aim is to explore whether technology can help them execute their jobs more effectively. There are currently several notable examples of businesses using AI to create content. But those attempts have not always been fruitful.
- Buzzfeed has employed artificial intelligence to publish content. And it’s clear why the company’s stock has been falling since it went public in 2021. The company gave its stock a boost when it said it was employing AI to write, but it didn’t take long for things to calm back down.
- David Saabye assembled BridgeTower Media’s seven-person team in mid-March. The B2B media company’s SVP of digital product management was requested to focus on AI experimentation and guidelines.
- CNET, owned by Red Ventures, was attempting to be a trailblazer when it was forced to redact many AI-generated stories with factual inaccuracies. It laid off 10% of its employees just weeks after its usage of AI was revealed.
- Forbes, according to a spokeswoman, assembled a seven-person committee in March. The team was tasked with discussing and developing AI policies. Representatives from the company’s corporate communications, HR, legal, data privacy, editorial, and cybersecurity teams are part of the committee.
- Trusted Media Brands assembled a team of nine professionals a month ago. It was led by chief IT officer Nick Contardo and commercial officer Cameron Saless. The group was founded to talk to other managers at this company. It would also discover what they say regarding [AI and machine learning]. Moreover, how this might influence them and what they could do with it.
- A note from the editor-in-chief of Insider Intelligence, Nicholas Carlson, regarding implementing AI in the newsroom illustrates the technology’s perplexing duality. He promotes the technology’s time-saving potential and quality as an asset to the newsroom. Still, he spends the remainder of the message cautioning against specific uses that could result in “journalistic disaster.”
- TMB’s task force is debating one or two “mid-size” AI projects in which the company can invest over the next six months, according to Contardo. Still, it has three overall goals: sharing AI learnings across departments, identifying which AI initiatives to test, and deciding on company policy regarding generative AI and ML technology. Managers from various teams, including business development, editorial, and sales and marketing, make up the team.
Many publishers continue employing a more organic internal AI testing strategy. Noah Weissman, EVP of content at Staff Whistle, drives the company’s AI efforts without a formalized staff. He stated that each manager oversees tests inside their sections. Even if their leadership is fully on board, not all media managers are confident that constructive artificial intelligence (AI) will be the panacea for the media industry’s ills.
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.
