AI Powered Editorial Systems & Organisational Changes

Abstract

Journalists work with an editorial system daily; they use it to process their articles, communicate with colleagues, and produce and archive content. Yet even though editorial systems are the heart and backbone of the journalistic process, they are underexposed within innovation processes and journalistic research. This is remarkable because technological developments-amongst others, the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence, offer numerous opportunities to revitalize editorial systems. In addition, new (hybrid) journalistic ways of working and operating call for a redesign of the editorial system.

In our research, 'The Editorial Portal,' a mixed group of experts from Fontys University of Applied Sciences (software engineers, AI experts, journalism researchers, and design researchers) investigated opportunities for a future-orientated editorial system where both organizational and technological transformations are considered. We understood that design methods, including context mapping, are suitable for identifying the relationship between editorial, system, corporate culture, and future developments. Journalists from four Dutch regional newsrooms consulted in this study call for a more intelligent system that encourages collaborative and creative working methods. Journalists, however, should be co-designing this new editorial system.