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- Monday 11th March: JournalismAI's Tshepo Tshabalala on practical AI use cases for small newsrooms
Monday 11th March: JournalismAI's Tshepo Tshabalala on practical AI use cases for small newsrooms
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On this week's episode of Media Voices we hear from Tshepo Tshabalala, project manager & team lead at the LSE’s JournalismAI project. I first met Tshepo on a newsrewired panel and was struck by the practical approach the project was taking to AI adoption, so we avoided talking about whether AI was going to take all our jobs and focused on how the JournalismAI project was helping newsrooms get started with the emerging tech.
Tshepo joined the JournalismAI project just three months after ChatGPT hit the headlines. Some might call that perfect timing; for others it would be a nightmare, with the playing field changing week by week. He’s taken it all in his stride, however, telling me, “It was a rollercoaster… trying to learn the job, trying to understand the field and understand who the players are, also serving our audience and our users that need help. But growth doesn’t happen in a comfortable space.”
Knowledge sharing is at the heart of everything the JournalismAI project does, from the JournalismAI Starter Pack, designed to help news organisations understand the opportunities offered by AI, to the 2023 JournalismAI report surveying 105 newsrooms in 46 countries. Tshepo says, “It's really just sharing knowledge, and then with the hope that they can decide thereafter, what they do with that knowledge.”
Roger Lynch’s journey to making Condé Nast profitable continues. ‘Flat revenue gains’ don’t make the most positive headline, but seen in the broader context of the magazine industry’s struggles to survive, flat is the new up. Lynch told Axios that moving to a place where the company is consistently breaking even has helped it invest in growth areas - digital and events - that will help drive a more sustainable business long-term.
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International Women’s Day might only come round once a year, but the patriarchy needs smashing 24/7. This list of 177 women and non-binary journalists, editors, and executives would be brilliant speakers for your next media event. Do the world a favour and make media less like me.
I doubt I’d notice if the British Royal Family was transported overnight back to their home planet. That said, this story is fascinating. Former BuzzFeed News correspondent Ellie Hall offers insight into how social media has actually forced Royal Press Offices to go on the record (what a concept) and wrecked public trust in both the Royals and the people who cover them. Looks like Nick Witchell is getting out just in time.
