AI finds its way into editorial offices. And it’s not bad news

Artificial Intelligence finds its way into editorial offices- How? Francesco Paulo Marconi will explain it at the first Meet the Media Guru of 2018.

A journalist and essayist from Portugal and now U.S. Citizen, Marconi is the Head of Reseach and Development at Wall Street Journal. Previously he worked for the press agency Associated Press where he dealed with media strategy and development. In 2017 Marconi was named Media Top Innovator by MediaShift20 for his work on augmented journalism. Read his guide How artificial intelligence will impact journalism.

How AI is changing the way to produce and disseminate news is the theme Marconi will talk about on Monday 9 April at 7.30 pm at the Auditorium of Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci (Via San Vittore 21). SIGN UP.

In an interview published in August 2017 with Mara Accettura for D La Repubblica, Marconi said that Associated Press has used Artificial Intelligence for years to optimise its work: “In 2013 some desk operators (note Those journalists who do “editorial cuisine”) asked us to be relieved of repetitive tasks, pieces of news that do not require much creativity”. For instance, price trends and economic statistics, sports results, pieces of news full of data and numbers that a machine can “report” much better than any person.

Designed to implement the volume of news, AI turned out to be useful also at editorial level: “With the time saved journalists could focus on rather multi-media stories and enquiries”.

If the way to manufacture news changes, so does the profile of those who work in this trade. “Ten years ago, we’d have hired someone who could write well and some good photographer. Today we seek multi-media profiles with a knack for technology and hired one of the first Automation editors” specifies again Marconi for D La Repubblica.

The message is clear: besides outstanding writing skills, good digital literacy, a broad network of contacts and the so-called eye for the news, if you want to work for a newspaper you must be familiar with coding and algorithms, be familiar with devices and application in order to enhance the news. Such as? For instance, data collecting and analysis software programmes or Virtual Reality visors and 360° video cameras.

A new world opens before those who work in journalism. A different horizon awaits those who browse through, click on and watch news: pretty much everyone, that is. It is worth knowing more. We will with Francesco Paulo Marconi on 9 April (7.30 pm) at Museo della Scienza. In order to attend you must register a at this link.

Attendance will award credits for Journalist Continuous Training. To get the credits, you must register on the Sigef platform.