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Automated journalism, also known as algorithmic journalism or robot journalism,[1][2][3] is a term that attempts to describe modern technological processes that have infiltrated the journalistic profession, such as news articles and videos generated by computer programs.[3][4][5] There are four main fields of application for automated journalism, namely automated content production, Data Mining, news dissemination and content optimization.[6] Through artificial intelligence (AI) software, stories are produced automatically by computers rather than human reporters. These programs interpret, organize, and present data in human-readable ways. Typically, the process involves an algorithm that scans large amounts of provided data, selects from an assortment of pre-programmed article structures, orders key points, and inserts details such as names, places, amounts, rankings, statistics, and other figures.[4] The output can also be customized to fit a certain voice, tone, or style.[2][3][4]
Data science and AI companies such as Automated Insights, Narrative Science, United Robots and Monok develop and provide these algorithms to news outlets.[4][7][8][9] As of 2016, only a few media organizations have used automated journalism. Early adopters include news providers such as the Associated Press, Forbes, ProPublica, and the Los Angeles Times.[3]
Early implementations were mainly used for stories based on statistics and numerical figures. Common topics include sports recaps, weather, financial reports, real estate analysis, and earnings reviews.[3] StatSheet, an online platform covering college basketball, runs entirely on an automated program.[4] The Associated Press began using automation to cover 10,000 minor baseball leagues games annually, using a program from Automated Insights and statistics from MLB Advanced Media.[10] Outside of sports, the Associated Press also uses automation to produce stories on corporate earnings.[4] In 2006, Thomson Reuters announced their switch to automation to generate financial news stories on its online news platform.[11] More famously, an algorithm called Quakebot published a story about a 2014 California earthquake on The Los Angeles Times website within three minutes after the shaking had stopped.[4][7]
Automated journalism is sometimes seen as an opportunity to free journalists from routine reporting, providing them with more time for complex tasks. It also allows efficiency and cost-cutting, alleviating some financial burden that many news organizations face. However, automated journalism is also perceived as a threat to the authorship and quality of news and a threat to the livelihoods of human journalists.[2][3]
- ^ Graefe, Andreas (January 7, 2016). Guide to Automated Journalism. New York City: Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ a b c Dörr, Konstantin Nicholas (2016-08-17). "Mapping the field of Algorithmic Journalism" (PDF). Digital Journalism. 4 (6): 700–722. doi:10.1080/21670811.2015.1096748. ISSN 2167-0811. S2CID 58477721.
- ^ a b c d e f Montal, Tal; Reich, Zvi (2016-08-05). "I, Robot. You, Journalist. Who is the Author?". Digital Journalism. 5 (7): 829–849. doi:10.1080/21670811.2016.1209083. ISSN 2167-0811. S2CID 151614065.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cohen, Nicole S. (2015-04-03). "From Pink Slips to Pink Slime: Transforming Media Labor in a Digital Age". The Communication Review. 18 (2): 98–122. doi:10.1080/10714421.2015.1031996. ISSN 1071-4421. S2CID 146768332.
- ^ Thurman, Neil; Stares, Sally; Koliska, Michael. "Audience Evaluations of News Videos Made with Various Levels of Automation: A Population-based Survey Experiment". Journalism. 0 (0): 1–21.
- ^ Kotenidis, Efthimis; Veglis, Andreas (June 2021). "Algorithmic Journalism—Current Applications and Future Perspectives". Journalism and Media. 2 (2): 244–257. doi:10.3390/journalmedia2020014. ISSN 2673-5172.
- ^ a b Carlson, Matt (2015-05-04). "The Robotic Reporter". Digital Journalism. 3 (3): 416–431. doi:10.1080/21670811.2014.976412. ISSN 2167-0811. S2CID 143327230.
- ^ Southern, Lucinda (2019-02-12). "Robot writers drove 1,000 paying subscribers for Swedish publisher MittMedia". Digiday. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
- ^ "AI-powered journalism: A time-saver or an accident waiting to happen?". American Press Institute. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ Mullin, Benjamin (June 30, 2016). "The Associated Press will use automated writing to cover the minor leagues". The Poynter Institute. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ Dalen, Arjen van (2012-10-01). "The Algorithms Behind the Headlines". Journalism Practice. 6 (5–6): 648–658. doi:10.1080/17512786.2012.667268. ISSN 1751-2786.