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- MediaMorph Edition 37 - by HANA News
MediaMorph Edition 37 - by HANA News
AI Tipping Points
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The written-by-a-human bit
Last year, there was a shift in US business schools from “you can’t use AI” to “you can use AI” to “you must use AI” - you won’t get hired without the skills.
Newsrooms are now hitting that tipping point. Time-saving tools for research, transcribing, summarising, and editing are commonplace. Having an internal tool trained on internal archives should be table stakes. Virtually free access to reasoning models like DeepSeek is a gift for innovation labs to build bespoke tools into existing CMS and workflows. Leaders can drive this bottom-up adoption by showing the way through education, giving permission, and leading by example.
That is the easy part.
The harder part is navigating the new AI landscape - how do premium subscribers find hyper-personalised, hyper-relevant information in real-time?
OpenAI’s release last weekend of Deeper Research for Pro customers ($200 a month) gives users access to PHD level agents with reasoning. This is aimed at researchers, analysts and academics looking for “multi-step research on the internet for complex tasks”. Early access users have been “blown away” by the time-saving and quality of the reports.
Whenever there is a new release like this, media companies and publishers must ask the same two questions - should we use it? And how do we get/prevent/protect our content being used by it?
Of course, the first one is yes, if you can afford it and want to give your journalists superpowers.
On the second question, Deeper Research can not yet access paywalled content, but OpenAI is looking to integrate licensed news and academic papers through collaborations.
Again, this feels like a tipping point. If AI-powered search becomes the new gateway to real-time information for professional knowledge workers, it's time to sign, not sue.
Mark Riley, CEO of Mathison AI
PS: I smiled at the news in The Bookseller that The US Authors Guild has launched a “Human Authored” certification process for writers to confirm that their books “emanated from the human intellect” and not from artificial intelligence (AI). They could say, “The written-by-a-human bit”.
AI and Media and Journalism
Tech Companies And Journalism Companies Join Forces, Sometimes Forbes - February 3, 2025 The digital media landscape is witnessing a shift toward collaboration, exemplified by Google's partnership with the Associated Press to enhance its Gemini AI service with real-time news updates. However, this comes amid legal disputes from companies like the New York Times and Getty Images against AI firms for unauthorized content use. Others, including Axios and Reuters, choose to collaborate with platforms like OpenAI to license their material. |
“Many journalists in the Global South are already using AI and they want guidance on how to do this ethically” Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism - A new report from the Thomson Reuters Foundation highlights the experiences of journalists in the Global South as they navigate AI's challenges and opportunities. The study reveals a disconnect in training and ethical guidelines. It calls for greater support and collaboration across regions to enhance equitable AI use in journalism, emphasizing the need for humility and learning from innovative practices in resource-limited environments. Read more at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (8 mins) |
Collaboration, experimentation, productionising and the future of AI and journalism ResponseSource - February 3, 2025 The recent InPublishing webinar highlighted AI's transformative impact in the media industry, emphasizing the need for collaboration between editorial and tech teams to ensure tools align with reader needs. Publishers are exploring various AI applications, from generating visuals to enhancing content efficiency, while navigating the choice between integrated solutions and specialized tools for optimal workflow. |
Program just announced for ISOJ 2025 features sessions on AI, trust, synthetic media and more Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas - January 30, 2025 Join the 26th International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ) on March 27-28, 2025, at the University of Texas at Austin and online, featuring over 60 speakers discussing the impact of AI, misinformation, and the evolving landscape of journalism. Early bird registration is open until February 10, 2025, with interactive sessions and workshops designed for both in-person and virtual attendees! Read more at Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas (3 mins) |
Journalism faces challenges of AI, misinformation, declining trust Jordan Times - January 30, 2025 In a compelling talk at Columbia Global Centres Amman, journalist Jelani Cobb addressed the escalating challenges in 21st-century journalism. He highlighted declining trust in the media, which is exacerbated by misinformation and violence against journalists. Cobb warned that the rise of artificial intelligence threatens investigative journalism's sustainability and predicted significant job losses in the media industry. |
Media Briefing: The Financial Times’ AI paywall is improving subscriber metrics, but not lifting conversions yet Digiday - January 30, 2025 The Financial Times has successfully implemented an AI-powered paywall that, despite a 10% drop in conversion rates, has boosted key metrics like average revenue per user by 6% and doubled customer retention at cancellation points. This innovative system personalizes subscription offers based on user behavior, enhancing the overall user experience while focusing on long-term value rather than immediate volume growth. |
Looking forward: key industry figures on AI and media tech in 2025 TVBEurope - January 2, 2025 The media and entertainment industry is rapidly evolving, driven by the rise of ad-supported streaming models and the integration of advanced AI technologies. These technologies enhance content personalization, streamline production, and enable real-time audience engagement. By 2025, these innovations, including generative AI and immersive technologies, are expected to transform content creation and localization, making high-quality, tailored experiences more accessible to diverse audiences globally. |
AI and Academic Publishing
A Multidisciplinary Multimodal Aligned Dataset for Academic Data Processing Nature - January 29, 2025 Introducing the Multidisciplinary Multimodal Aligned Dataset (MMAD), a groundbreaking resource that integrates over 20 years of visual and textual academic data across various disciplines, achieving high accuracy in recognizing and aligning figures with their context. With innovative quality validation methods and rich annotations, MMAD enhances academic data processing, paving the way for future research insights and trend analyses. |
US Authors Guild launches 'human authored' certification in battle against AI-generated books The US Authors Guild has introduced a "Human Authored" certification program, allowing authors to verify that their books originated from human creativity rather than AI-generated content1. This initiative, currently available to Guild members but planned for expansion, permits accredited authors to display a logo on their works, emphasizing transparency and the human elements of storytelling while permitting limited AI use for tasks like research or spell-checking1. The UK's Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society has endorsed the move, which advocates for similar consent-based approaches to AI training data access rather than altering existing copyright frameworks. |
RELX: Academic Publisher Ripe For Disruption By Open Access (NYSE:RELX) RELX's ownership of Elsevier is challenged by the rise of open access publishing, which promotes free access to research and threatens traditional subscription models. As institutions push for greater transparency and accessibility, Elsevier must adapt its business strategies to stay relevant in the evolving landscape of academic publishing. |
Breaking Down Barriers in Academic Publishing: How MERIT Review Levels the Playing Field International Business Times UK - January 28, 2025 MERIT Review is an innovative platform designed to democratize academic publishing by evaluating research solely on its quality, eliminating biases associated with traditional journals. Founded by Dr. Joseph Arboleda-Velasquez, it offers a fair and objective review process while compensating reviewers. Thus, it ensures that all researchers, regardless of their background or institution, can have their work recognized and effectively disseminated. |
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