As media organizations look into AI, the Daily Mirror and Daily Express to use ChatGPT chatbot to help journalists write news stories.
Jim Mullen, chief executive of Reach, told the reporters that the company had established a working group to explore how the tool could assist human reporters in compiling coverage on various topics like traffic and weather local news.
He said he had commissioned a group of working people from the tech and editorial departments to investigate the limitations and potential benefits of chatbots like ChatGPT. We can see the potential to use it to support journalists for more familiar stories, such as weather and local traffic, or to find creative uses outside of our usual content areas.
Newsrooms all over the globe are examining how advances in generative AI (OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard chatbot) will impact the production of journalism.
BuzzFeed announced last month it would partner with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, to produce its viral quizzes. CNET tried to use AI for economic content explanations but was stopped by viewers.
News organizations have used AI for many years. Thomson Reuters uses Lynx Insight, an in-house program that analyzes market data and finds patterns for journalists.
Reach publishes over 130 titles, including the Daily Record and the Manchester Evening News. The company last month warned that its annual profit would be lower than anticipated due to cost inflation and lower print advertising rates. The company also stated it would cut 200 jobs from its editorial and commercial departments from 4,500.
The group is expanding its US presence, opening a New York office this year and launching online US versions for the Daily Express and the Irish Star to appeal to the US’s Irish American population.
Reach stated that exploring AI uses was more about embracing new technology and using data than cost-cutting.
Jim Mullen, chief executive of Reach, stated that while it is still early, the tool can support editorial teams like another tech we already use.
However. Chris Morley, Reach’s co-ordinator at the National Union of Journalists, expressed concern and stated that he would “be seeking to meet with the company.”
He said, “I am concerned that we haven’t been spoken to by the company in the first instance as there’s the potential impact on job opportunities.” “We are experiencing 200 job losses within the group. It’s been a difficult process.”
Francesco Marconi is the co-founder and chief executive of AppliedXL. He used to work at the Associated Press on automation and AI. He said that ChatGPT would only be used in “supporting functions” for journalism. He said, “A framework to consider is if GPT was an intern that can help edit certain paragraphs of the report but cannot generate original reporting.”
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