Newsroom Robots

In Estonia, Delfi Meedia has built one of the strongest foundations for AI in journalism. With one of the highest digital subscription rates in the world, Delfi has moved beyond the buzz around AI to put it into everyday practice, supporting both its journalism and business.In this episode, host Nikita Roy is joined by Ivar Krustok, Chief AI & Innovation Officer at Delfi Meedia. Ivar breaks down how a small-market publisher is shipping AI that actually helps journalists: from live cross-language translation and newsroom bots to an in-house “company ChatGPT” toolkit wired into 25 years of archives and public records.Key topics include:•Delfi’s three-bucket AI strategy: everyday newsroom tools, experimental long-term projects, and company-wide literacy.•Why Delfi built its own “company ChatGPT” toolkit to search 25 years of archives.•How bots and agents are transforming dashboards into conversational tools for subscriptions, ads, and editorial performance.•Lessons from AI experiments, from court-case monitoring that surfaces hidden stories to audience-facing image generators.•The ongoing challenge of scaling AI literacy across hundreds of staff while keeping adoption practical and trust-centered.Sign up for the Newsroom Robots newsletter for episode summaries and insights from host Nikita Roy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a new academic year begins, journalism schools face a defining challenge: how to prepare students for a profession being reshaped by AI.At Stanford University, Djordje Padejski is leading the way. A veteran investigative journalist and now associate director of the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford, he created one of the earliest AI-focused journalism courses at Arizona State University before bringing it to Stanford last year. His classroom is less lecture hall and more lab, where students test AI tools and also learn to examine them.On Newsroom Robots, Djordje shared how he structures his course and what journalism schools must do to prepare the next generation of journalists.Key topics include:Why journalism education must move beyond teaching AI as just a tool and instead frame it as a socio-technical phenomenon.How to embed AI literacy in classrooms by separating hype from reality, contextualizing the history of AI, and examining its cultural and ethical limits.Practical strategies Djordje uses to structure his Stanford course, from lab-style experimentation to peer-led discussions that uncover both opportunities and pitfalls of tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and NotebookLM.The importance of teaching students not just how to use AI but how to critically assess its strengths, biases, and limitations.What a future journalism curriculum or degree built around AI might look like, and how educators across disciplines can prepare the next generation of reporters.Sign up for the Newsroom Robots newsletter for episode summaries and insights from host Nikita Roy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sara Beykpour, co-founder and CEO of Particle News, brings a wealth of experience from her decade at Twitter. She dives into how Particle utilizes a 'Reality Check' process to craft accurate AI-generated news summaries while maintaining reader trust. The conversation highlights the innovative bias meter that reflects the political leanings of stories and the importance of personalized news feeds that avoid filter bubbles. Beykpour also discusses the crucial role of transparency and collaboration with publishers in shaping the future of trustworthy journalism.

In this discussion, Florent Daudens, Press Lead at Hugging Face and former AI leader at Canada’s Radio-Canada, emphasizes the potential of open-source AI to revolutionize journalism. He explores how it can alleviate the constraints of proprietary models, enhance editorial control, and promote transparency. Daudens also shares insights on AI’s environmental impact and provides a toolkit of 20 essential open-source tools for journalists. Expect a deep dive into how flexible AI can reshape newsrooms for a more sustainable future!

In this engaging discussion, Gard Steiro, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of VG, emphasizes the need for open dialogue about AI's role in newsrooms. Naja Nielsen, Media Director at SVT, highlights the significance of empowering experimentation and organizational learning. Fabian Heckenberg from Süddeutsche Zeitung shares insights on forming interdisciplinary teams and tackling prioritization challenges in the face of legacy systems versus new AI tools. Together, they explore the transformative potential of AI in journalism while ensuring trust and relevance with audiences.

Gina Chua, Executive Editor of Semafor and former leader in global newsrooms, shares her insights on AI's transformative role in journalism. She discusses innovative AI tools like Miso that enhance storytelling and multilingual engagement. Gina emphasizes the need for journalists to adapt by asking the right questions and crafting narratives uniquely human. Challenges in integrating AI products in newsrooms, from unstable models to workflow resistance, are also examined, highlighting a pivotal moment for journalism's future.

Zach Seward, Editorial Director of AI Initiatives at The New York Times and co-founder of Quartz, discusses the innovative strides AI is making in journalism. He shares how his five-person AI team supports investigative work by analyzing massive data sets. The conversation highlights their in-house tool, Echo, which streamlines article transformation for reporters. Zach emphasizes the importance of trust and agency in the newsroom, as well as how AI enhances reader engagement and reshapes audience interactions with news.

Cheryl Phillips, founder of Big Local News at Stanford University, dives into how AI is transforming local journalism. She discusses the groundbreaking work her team is doing to unearth hidden stories, such as revealing Santa Clara County's contracts with ICE despite official denials. Cheryl highlights innovative tools like Agenda Watch for tracking public meeting agendas and DataTalk, which simplifies campaign finance analysis for reporters. Explore how these technologies bolster accountability journalism, empowering local newsrooms in a data-rich world.

Kasper Lindskow, Head of AI at JP/Politikens Media Group, leads innovative AI initiatives in journalism. He discusses the challenges of scaling AI in newsrooms and the importance of a robust infrastructure. Key highlights include the Platform Intelligence in News project and the Magna AI suite, designed to adapt to different publications. Kasper also shares insights on maintaining journalistic integrity through the 'Values Compass' and training journalists to effectively use AI tools, ensuring their successful integration into daily workflows.

Imagine a newsroom where AI agents assist with reporting, actively surface leads, analyze government data, and help journalists navigate complex investigations in real time. Norway’s iTromsø is laying the groundwork for exactly that.In the second part of this episode with Rune Ytreberg, head of data journalism at iTromsø, and Lars Adrian Giske, head of AI join host Nikita Roy to share how their small but ambitious newsroom is systematically building an infrastructure for AI-powered journalism. This isn’t just about isolated tools—it’s about creating a cohesive ecosystem where AI enhances reporting at every level.Rather than simply bolting AI onto existing workflows, iTromsø is focused on building a structured data infrastructure that supports AI agents across multiple newsroom functions.Their vision includes:A centralized AI-powered data interface that allows journalists to filter, analyze, and cross-reference government records, public documents, and municipal archives.Automated news alerts that notify reporters when AI detects important patterns or anomalies in the data.A structured repository of historical data, ensuring journalists have context-rich information at their fingertips, allowing for deeper investigative work.This structured approach isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about creating a foundation where AI can play an active role in surfacing critical stories.iTromsø is designing an AI-ready newsroom—one where structured data, automated insights, and AI-assisted research come together to elevate investigative journalism.Sign up for the Newsroom Robots newsletter for episode summaries and insights from host Nikita Roy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.