“. . . we confirmed our suspicion about the AI gap between large and small organizations. In the cohort we surveyed, AI technologies were not in wide use. But the reasons largely came down to a lack of any cushion required to experiment.“
– Aimee Rinehart & Ernest King
Researchers at the Associated Press examined what’s being done and what might be done with AI in local newsrooms. They collected survey responses from 192 local news leaders and interviewed 25 newsrooms.
The authors identified 32 functions participants felt would be useful across news gathering, production, and distribution.
They also flagged business support activities where AI systems could lend a virtual hand, such as smart customer relationship management (CRM).
A grant from the Knight Foundation supported the work. All the research was in the United States.
Artificial Intelligence in Local News
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | March 2022 | by Aimee Rinehart & Ernest King