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Newsroom Robots

Latest episodes

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Jun 24, 2025 • 51min

Gina Chua: Where Journalism’s Value Lives When AI Tells the Story

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.
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May 30, 2025 • 59min

Zach Seward: How a Five-Person AI Team Is Powering Innovation at The New York Times

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.
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May 30, 2025 • 51min

Cheryl Phillips: How AI Is Uncovering Hidden Stories in Local Government

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.
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Mar 18, 2025 • 60min

Kasper Lindskow: Building a Scalable AI Infrastructure at Denmark's JP/Politikens Media Group

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.
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Mar 3, 2025 • 52min

Rune Ytreberg and Lars Adrian Giske: How iTromsø is Building an AI-Ready Foundation for News

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.
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Feb 18, 2025 • 47min

Rune Ytreberg & Lars Adrian Giske: Building AI Tools for Investigative Journalism in Local News

Translating a journalist's gut instinct into code—is it possible? In Norway, iTromsø—a long-standing regional newspaper known for its investigative journalism and deep local coverage—has found a way.Their AI system, DJINN (Data Journalism Interface for News Gathering and Notification), acts like an experienced beat reporter, scanning hundreds of municipal documents and surfacing the most newsworthy leads. The impact? In their first week using DJINN, summer interns fresh out of journalism school produced five front-page stories—on a beat that usually takes years to master.In this episode of Newsroom Robots, Rune Ytreberg and Lars Adrian Giske join host Nikita Roy to talk about iTromsø’s structured approach to AI-driven reporting and how they built tools that strengthen their local journalism.Rune leads iTromsø’s data journalism lab, where he has been developing AI-driven editorial solutions for 70 local newspapers within the Polaris Media Group since 2020. And Lars is the Head of AI at iTromsø and led the development of DJINN. Since its launch in 2023, 36 newspapers across Norway have adopted DJINN, sourcing documents from nearly half of all Norwegian municipalities.Key topics include:•How a small newsroom built AI tools to strengthen investigative journalism•Why their AI systems are designed for specific beats like urban planning and fisheries, reducing hallucinations and increasing precision.•Embedding editorial expertise in AI development•How their fisheries database flagged irregularities and how their urban planning system transformed local accountability coverage.This is just Part 1 of our deep dive into how iTromsø is using AI to power investigative reporting. In Part 2, Rune and Lars will discuss their latest project: AI-powered research assistants that will proactively surface investigative leads for their journalists.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.
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Feb 10, 2025 • 43min

Neil Brown: The Pulitzer Prizes, AI Transparency, and Journalism’s Next Evolution

Neil Brown, president of The Poynter Institute and former chair of the Pulitzer Prizes, joins host Nikita Roy to discuss the Pulitzer Board's decision to require AI disclosure in prize submissions. In 2024, two Pulitzer Prize winners disclosed using AI in their work - City Bureau and Invisible Institute used machine learning to analyze police misconduct files for "Missing in Chicago," while The New York Times' visual investigations desk employed AI to identify bomb craters in Gaza. Of the 45 finalists that year, five had disclosed using AI in their submissions. In this episode, Brown discusses how the Pulitzer Board approached AI disclosure requirements and shares his perspective on technology's evolving role in journalism.Key topics include:The Pulitzer Board's approach to AI disclosure and transparencyHow newsrooms can bridge the divide between technical and editorial teamsWhy newsrooms need to take a longitudinal approach to technology adoptionThe importance of involving audiences in technological innovationLessons from journalism's digital transformation that apply to the AI eraSign 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.
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Dec 27, 2024 • 40min

Upasna Gautam: The Product Manager's Guide to AI in News

Upasna Gautam, Senior Platform Product Manager at CNN and Chair of the Board of Directors at the News Product Alliance, dives into the transformative role of AI in journalism. She introduces her three-question framework for AI integration and shares insights from building CNN's Stellar platform. Key highlights include empowering editorial teams, fostering collaboration to build trust, and practical strategies for AI implementation in resource-constrained newsrooms. Gautam also discusses evolving content management systems and the critical balance between technology and journalistic integrity.
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Nov 27, 2024 • 48min

Agnes Stenbom: Reimagining News Through the Eyes of Gen Z

Agnes Stenbom, Sweden’s AI Person of the Year and Head of IN/LAB at Schibsted Media, discusses innovative approaches to journalism. She talks about transforming news into rap music to engage younger audiences and leveraging AI for personalized news experiences. Stenbom shares insights on ethical AI use and the challenges of fostering newsroom culture to embrace technology. She also emphasizes the importance of inclusion and collaboration in reshaping journalistic practices across the Nordic region.
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Oct 23, 2024 • 43min

Ritvvij Parrikh: Personalization Vs. Editorial Judgment? At The Times of India, You Can Have Both

Ritvvij Parrikh, Senior Director of Product at Times of India, joins host Nikita Roy to discuss how AI-powered personalization is transforming news distribution and why newsrooms need to rethink their approach to revenue optimization.Parrikh, who leads product development at India's largest English-language news organization, discusses their innovative approach to news personalization that increased click-through rates by 85% on web and 40% on mobile. His team developed a proprietary recommendation system that automatically optimized content distribution for individual readers. As an industry thought leader, Parrikh has been instrumental in demonstrating how newsrooms can build AI systems that balance editorial judgment with reader preferences while maintaining journalistic integrity.Key topics include:Building newsroom-specific recommendation systems that understand news cyclesThe critical importance of real-time data infrastructure for modern newsroomsWhy newsrooms should master focus on building the operational infrastructures to power AISign 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.

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