For local newsrooms, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) presents both opportunities and challenges. At a recent webinar hosted by the Local Media Association, David Arkin of David Arkin Consulting shared practical guidance on incorporating AI tools into newsroom operations.

Arkin emphasized the transformative potential of AI but stressed the importance of maintaining human oversight.

“AI needs a human check in all cases,” he said. “Create content off of existing content. Don’t just post what AI gives you.”

A key recommendation was developing a clear AI policy for the newsroom. This should outline the specific tools and use cases, guidelines for labeling AI-generated content and a process for editing and approving AI-produced material. Arkin also suggested forming a small “AI Council” to test and experiment with emerging technologies.

Here are some of the key questions Arkin said should be addressed in a policy:

• What AI tools will be used?
• How will AI-generated content be labeled?
• How will editorial oversight work?
• Will newsroom content be scraped by AI?
• How will AI-generated visuals be used? 

Arkin’s Top 5 recommendations for AI in the newsroom:

Use AI to Optimize Headlines and SEO

  • AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly and Answer.AI can generate engaging headlines, meta descriptions and URLs tailored for search rankings.
  • AI can analyze trending keywords and suggest SEO-friendly phrasing to boost story visibility.
  • AI can take a narrative story and put it into an alternative story format, which can lead to more reader engagement.

Automate Meeting Summaries and Transcriptions

  • AI-powered tools like Otter.ai and Summarize.tech can transcribe and summarize government meetings, press conferences and interviews in minutes.
  • AI can extract key quotes, timestamps and action items from meetings, reducing time spent reviewing recordings.
  • AI can generate more content by highlighting some of the smaller items that a government entity approves through the summaries the tools provide.

Generate Social Media Posts 

  • AI can automatically draft captions, hashtags and social posts that are optimized for each platform (Facebook, X and Instagram).
  • AI-driven tools can repurpose long-form stories into engaging social threads or longer captions for video clips for TikTok and Instagram Reels.
  • AI can build emojis and provide you ideas for your post (ask a question, fill in the blank)

Create AI-Generated Visuals & Infographics

  • Tools like Adobe Photoshop AI and Canva AI can generate custom images, social graphics and illustrations to replace generic stock photos.
  • AI-powered data visualization tools can convert spreadsheets and reports into reader-friendly charts and infographics.

Streamline Press Releases and Community Listings

  • AI can reformat and summarize press releases, event listings and community bulletins into concise, structured content.
  • AI can read full PDFs and pull out the best events to feature when numerous events are listed on a page.
  • Press releases can be turned around quicker through utilizing the tools to repackage the most important information into a concise brief.

Arkin demonstrated how AI can streamline workflows and enhance the breadth of local news coverage. He also noted the importance of protecting content and data privacy when utilizing these tools. For newsrooms interested in exploring AI further, Arkin recommended investigating platforms like Nota, Dappier and Answer.AI.

He also offered to facilitate introductions to content management system (CMS) providers that have built-in AI capabilities. The webinar underscored that while AI presents challenges, proactive newsrooms can leverage these technologies to boost efficiency and expand their storytelling. By developing strategic policies and workflows, local media organizations can harness the power of AI to better serve their communities.

The webinar recording is available here: 5 Surprising Ways to Use AI to Empower Your Editorial Teams (Passcode: iwlx.p8W)

Editor’s note: Artificial Intelligence was used to transcribe and create an initial summary of this article, which was then edited by LMA staff.