Reporter resigns after using AI to generate fake quotes

Hello! Here’s what’s in this week’s issue:

→ Podcast: How Slack app YESEO is helping hundreds of newsrooms

→ Wyoming reporter resigns after allegedly using AI to generate quotes for local stories

→ Study shows what makes a successful community newspaper

→ Big tech runs ad against California bill: warns local news is ‘under siege’

→ How does the Google monopoly ruling affect local newspapers?

🎧 Podcast: How Slack app YESEO is helping hundreds of newsrooms

This week on the Small Press, Big Ideas podcast, I spoke with Ryan Restivo about how his Slack app YESEO is helping over 450 newsrooms streamline their SEO best practices.

YESEO is a free Slack app that helps newsrooms create relevant headlines, generate the right keywords to use, and gives right information at the right time to help publishers get their work seen and read.

We discussed how YESEO works from a workflow perspective, what its capabilities are, YESEO’s business model, why it’s free for newsrooms to use, and a lot more. Read more on my website, and subscribe to Small Press, Big Ideas wherever you get your podcasts!

Listen here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

📰 Wyoming reporter resigns after allegedly using AI to generate quotes for local stories

A reporter resigned from his position at the Cody Enterprise after allegedly fabricating quotes from a liquor store owner, a deputy district attorney, an astronaut, and more using generative AI tools.

At least seven people including Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon have confirmed that they were quoted by the reporter with statements that they never made.

The story was brought to light by CJ Baker, a reporter for the neighboring outlet the Powell Tribune after he noticed seemingly innocuous quotes that didn’t seem quite right.

This story highlights anxieties shared by many in the local news space around misuse of AI tools and the lack of public AI ethics policies at small newsrooms around the country.

📰 Study shows what makes a successful community newspaper

A study by the New Jersey Press Association sheds some light on local publications who are successfully serving their communities and keeping the lights on sustainably.

Some of the top takeaways from successful community papers in the study:

• About ¼ had recently become nonprofits

• Most were in affluent markets

• Most were independently owned for two decades or more

Here’s a great writeup on the study from Editor & Publisher.

📰 Big tech runs ad against California bill: warns local news is ‘under siege’

The CCIA, an organization representing large tech companies, has launched an ad campaign aimed at California citizens urging them to tell their lawmakers to oppose the California Journalism Preservation Act.

The ad claims that local media is “under siege from big, out-of-state media companies and hedge funds“ and that “California legislators are considering a bill that could make things even worse”.

The bill would require large tech companies such as Google and Meta to help fund local journalism. Read more here.

📰 How does the Google monopoly ruling affect local newspapers?

Here’s an interesting piece from Dean Ridings on how Google has historically affected local newspapers, the downstream effects it’s had on communities, efforts to level the playing field, and how the recent landmark ruling on Google’s anticompetitive practices is a step in the right direction.