WHEN print operations decouple from digital newsrooms, they face an immediate content gap Digital teams produce dozens of stories daily, but not all of them are suitable for print This may be because digital formats don’t translate well to print, the topics don’t suit the print audience, or, conversely, content relevant to print readers is not produced at all because it performs poorly on digital platforms Moreover, the total volume of stories produced in the newsroom based on the requirements and strategy for digital platforms is often insufficient to “fill the paper” properly
However, cost pressures have forced many publishers to reduce their local footprint significantly There are often simply no boots on the ground anymore to find and provide this kind of content A small print team, consisting mainly of page producers and layout editors, cannot generate enough original content using traditional methods and rebuilding local reporting staff is, in most cases, no longer financially viable The solution lies in AI systems, often called AI agents, that can actively monitor, gather, filter, evaluate and adapt content streams, enabling a small team to effectively serve print readers’ unique needs and preferences
These systems are not only for supporting print production, nor only for regional media houses AI agents and AI assistants can, of course, also be used by the digital newsroom as important time savers, and speed and quality boosters, albeit with perhaps different configurations I would like to discuss four of them that European publishers such as Schibsted, JP/Politiken, DPG Media, and others are exploring — or actively using — to support both the editorial process in general and print production in particular One very time-consuming part of the day in any newsroom is the “reading in” phase in the morning
They continuously monitor dozens of information sources simultaneously, far beyond what human staff could track, such as:
Local government feeds:City council agendas, meeting minutes, planning commission filings, budget documents, public notices, etc Emergency services:Police reports, fire department logs, court filings, traffic incidents, etc Private clubs:Announcements or reports of special interest clubs, sports clubs, community clubs, etc Community organisations:School board announcements, non-profit news, church bulletins, etc
Business intelligence:Building permits, business license applications, real estate transactions, business openings and closures, etc More advanced AI agents can identify emerging stories by detecting patterns across multiple sources Additionally, they can evaluate the content using scoring algorithms and conduct a news value assessment that considers, for instance, local impact, exclusivity, reader interest or deeper reporting potential.
Source: Newsday_Com
