WAN-IFRA’s Newsroom AI Catalyst kicks off in Europe in September 2024

The Newsroom AI Catalyst, sponsored by OpenAI, the AI research and deployment company behind ChatGPT, is an accelerator programme open to 128 newsrooms across Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and South Asia. FATHM, the London media lab and news consultancy, will pilot the programme under the coaching of Fergus Bell, Tom Trewinnard and their team. “The Newsroom AI Catalyst is a peerless opportunity for newsrooms worldwide to take concrete steps toward harnessing AI’s transformative power to enhance their work. We’re thrilled to collaborate with WAN-IFRA and OpenAI to deliver this in-depth, intensive programme that accelerates innovation”, said Bell and Trewinnard.

Topic experts and fellow publishers worldwide will contribute to the programme and guide the teams. The catalyst’s official kick-off will be held in London on September 10 and 11, 2024.

In this first edition of the programme, which will be open to other regions in 2025, each participating publisher has assembled a multidisciplinary team for a three-month accelerator programme. The second European-focused catalyst will start in January 2025 with another sixteen teams.

“We are excited to participate in the ‘Newsroom AI Catalyst’, as it offers us a unique opportunity to explore how artificial intelligence can elevate our journalism.” said Editor and Head of Editorial Development Christer S. Johnsen from Adresseavisen in Norway. “We’re already exploring new possibilities with AI and look forward to drawing inspiration from other European media organisations and sharing our insights. Through hands-on workshops and expert guidance, we hope to gain practical insights and innovative approaches that we can apply directly to our work. We also believe this experience will help expand the network of engaged professionals working with AI in journalism.”

“Participating in the Newsroom AI Catalyst program will be a unique opportunity to explore the transformative potential of AI in journalism. This program will offer valuable insights and hands-on experience, helping us to innovate and enhance our newsroom’s capabilities. Being part of this initiative will strengthen our strategic approach to AI and align us with a global network of forward-thinking news organisations.” commented Bruno Durdu, Digital Director at Belgian Rossel-Group,

“We look forward to further expanding our AI expertise with the support of WAN-IFRA and experts from OpenAI and to generating new ideas for the use of AI in journalism through dialogue with other media companies”, explained Nadia Kohler, Head of Product Management Content Development and Head of AI Lab at Tamedia in Switzerland.

News organisations participating in the first Newsroom AI Catalyst in Europe.

• Adressavisen (Norway)
• L’Arena (Italy)
• Blick (Switzerland)
• El Confidencial (Spain)
• Diari ARA (Spain)
• Editpress (Luxemburg)
• Freie Presse Mediengruppe (Germany)
• Mediengruppe Pressedruck  (Germany)
• NWT Media (Sweden)
• L’Observateur (France)
• Press and Journal/The Courier (United Kingdom)
• Le Soir (Belgium)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung  (Germany)
• Tamedia (Switzerland)
• Trierischerer Volksfreund / Bonner Generalanzeiger  (Germany)

Contact and Inquiries

For more information, interviews or to make contact with participants, please get in touch with Martin Fröhlich, Director, Digital Revenue Network, WAN-IFRA. martin.froehlich@wan-ifra.org 

ABOUT THE NEWSROOM AI CATALYST. The Newsroom AI Catalyst is an accelerator programme open to 128 newsrooms across Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and South Asia. It combines expert guidance with hands-on experience, equipping newsroom stakeholders with the knowledge and tools to drive strategic AI initiatives. On completion, participants will leave the programme with a prototype and a clear roadmap to scale up their artificial intelligence operations in the newsroom. See more at wan-ifra.org.

ABOUT WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, is the global organisation of the world’s press. Its mission is to protect the rights of journalists and publishers around the world to operate independent media. We provide our members with expertise and services to innovate and prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in society. It derives its authority from its global network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from its 60 member publisher associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries. See more at wan-ifra.org.

ABOUT OPENAI. OpenAI is an American AI research organisation headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its mission is to create safe and beneficial artificial general intelligence (AGI), described as “highly autonomous systems that surpass human performance in most economically valuable tasks.” As a prominent player in the AI industry, OpenAI is renowned for its GPT series of large language models, the DALL-E series of text-to-image models, and a text-to-video model called Sora. The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 significantly heightened global interest in generative AI. The organisation comprises the non-profit OpenAI, Inc., registered in Delaware, and its for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI Global, LLC, established in 2019. Microsoft holds approximately 49% of OpenAI’s equity.

​​​

The post WAN-IFRA’s Newsroom AI Catalyst kicks off in Europe in September 2024 appeared first on WAN-IFRA.