Lenfest Institute for Journalism

💡 What happens when local newsrooms get direct access to AI talent + tools? We have been testing exactly that at The Lenfest Institute for Journalism AI Collaborative & Fellowship Program. In partnership with OpenAI + Microsoft, 10 major news organizations have hired two-year AI fellows to build real newsroom solutions. Early projects already live: 📰 The Philadelphia Inquirer: AI archive research assistant 📊 The Seattle Times: AI ad sales prospecting agent 🎙️ Chicago Public Media: Multilingual transcription + translation 🍽️ The Minnesota Star Tribune: launching an AI-driven restaurant finder and sharing the source code for their underlying "Agate" framework 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Local journalism is under huge pressure. This program is a model for how AI can strengthen, not replace, the mission of journalism by transparently fueling sustainability, collaboration, and innovation. 👉 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂:  How should AI be applied in industries where trust and mission matter most? 🔗 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: You'll find case studies, projects, guides, code, and more. https://lnkd.in/g2vnFXqC The Lenfest AI Collaborative & Fellowship cohort includes: + Baltimore Banner + Boston Globe Media + Chicago Public Media + DallasNews Corporation + Newsday Media Group + NEWSWELL at Arizona State University + ProPublica + The Minnesota Star Tribune + The Philadelphia Inquirer + The Seattle Times Gratitude to these organizations for their openness and collaborative spirit as well as their fellows: Aaron Brezel, Brian Prichard, Dana Chiueh 👩🏻💻, Kevin Hoffman, Mark Chonofsky, Omar Reid, Paulino Daniel Ramírez Torres, Rajesh B., and Shanni You.

A state-funded fellowship program in New Mexico has grown from 3 reporters to 8 in 2025 - creating a pipeline of new journalists and more investment for local news. via Sarah Gustavus Lim, Lenfest Institute for Journalism cc New Mexico Local News Fund and The University of New Mexico https://lnkd.in/eE9e3sty

Happening this Thursday! Join us at 2 p.m. EDT / 11 a.m. PDT on Sept. 25 for a discussion on how journalists can better serve their communities and produce reporting that leads to meaningful, measurable impact 👇

We are thrilled to welcome The Lenfest Institute for Journalism as our newest affiliate member! “The Lenfest Institute is deeply aligned with PNA’s mission to strengthen Pennsylvania’s news ecosystem,” said Tristan Loper, head of national programs at The Lenfest Institute. “Through our programs, we’re committed to helping independent local news organizations thrive,” Loper added. “This year alone, we expect to provide more than $800,000 in grant funding, along with access to Communities of Practice and one-on-one advising. These resources—paired with the insights we’ve gained from supporting publishers nationwide—are designed to help news organizations like the members of PNA build sustainable businesses and continue serving their communities for the long term.” Read more in our recent member spotlight: https://lnkd.in/e4P_6gbT Learn more about The Lenfest Institute for Journalism at https://lnkd.in/gh8EMPZ2 #PNA #PAnewsmedia #PNA100 #LenfestInstitute #Journalism #LocalNews

✨ That’s a wrap on our AI in Local News San Francisco Summit! It’s energizing to gather with people building the future of journalism with AI. Grateful to our hosts Northwestern University Medill School and OpenAI. We’re fortunate to spend time in Northwestern’s San Francisco hub and at OpenAI’s headquarters. Our third summit brought together senior executives, board members, deans, academics, researchers, students, journalists, technologists, AI fellows, and philanthropic partners. The combination of learning, humor, humility, and curiosity reflected equal parts serious innovation and human connection. A few highlights: + 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 & 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 | gatherings like these build openness and camaraderie among wicked smart individuals and teams. + 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 | participants spanned national and metro news organizations (Newsday Media Group, The Dallas Morning News, The Seattle Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Public Media, Baltimore Banner, Boston Globe Media, ProPublica, The Minnesota Star Tribune, and NEWSWELL at Arizona State University), academia (Northwestern University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley), philanthropy and nonprofits (National Trust for Local News, American Journalism Project, Lenfest Institute for Journalism), and tech (Microsoft, OpenAI). + 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 | broad perspectives from senior executives and deans to early-career fellows and students, reinforcing a learning community where all voices matter. 🙏 Special thanks to Mackenzie Warren for walking us through Northwestern’s cross-disciplinary approach; to Christina Lim, Yiren Lu, and Kaycee Spalding for candid insights on how AI is evolving across industries; to Jennifer Marsman and the Microsoft + OpenAI teams for rolling up sleeves with our fellows; and to CEO Jim Friedlich and board member Hong Q. from the Lenfest Institute for Journalism as well as OpenAI's Tom Rubin for their presence and generous ongoing support. A true 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 is forming, where dilemmas are shared openly and solutions are built collaboratively, and I thank all of you. #AI #Journalism #Community #LocalNews #Innovation #Strategy

As gun violence continues to impact our communities — compounded further by other current issues like political unrest and mis- and disinformation — there’s no time like the present to improve your newsroom’s coverage of the crisis. The The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting is hosting a conference from Oct. 2-3 to answer urgent questions around how we tell stories about gun violence. Join experts in Philly for candid discussions on solutions journalism, trauma-informed reporting, the public health approach to gun violence prevention, and how we can prevent further harm to communities impacted by the issue. Attendees who join for both days will be eligible to receive PCGVR’s Gun Violence Prevention Reporting Certification. Learn more and register 👇 https://www.pcgvr.org/

The cable pioneer and news visionary H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest told me, “surround yourself by people who are smarter than you…” I spent much of last week in #SanFrancisco and #SiliconValley with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism’s AI Fellows- an extraordinary group of national and metro news organizations focused on broad, enterprise-wide applications of AI in news: AI in ad sales lead generation, subscription marketing, news archive utilization & research, analysis of public data, language translation, philanthropic fundraising, an array of applications for investigative news, and much, much more. This fun, sharing, and brilliant group from 8 countries represented news, universities, foundations and tech: News: The Dallas Morning News, The Seattle Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Banner, Boston Globe Media, ProPublica, Chicago Public Media , WBEZ Chicago Chicago Sun-Times The Minnesota Star Tribune. Newsday Media Group Universities: NEWSWELL at Arizona State University Northwestern University Medill School , Stanford University (Big Local News), University of California, Berkeley School of Journalism. Philanthropy and nonprofits: National Trust for Local News, American Journalism Project, Lenfest Institute for Journalism, and Tech (Microsoft , OpenAI ) Thanks David Chivers Tesnim Z. Hong Q. Tom Rubin Varun Shetty Noreen Jeremy Gilbert Ginny Badanes Jennifer Marsman Cheryl Phillips Dorrine Mendoza Matt Boggie Kevin Delaney Mark Chonofsky Emily Boardman Ndulue Michael D. B. Rodney Gibbs and many more. #AIinNews #LocalNews #ProductInNews #GenAI #RAG #NewsroomInnovation #MediaLeadership

🌲 What happens when AI reshapes not just how we work, but how we 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥? Many thanks to Kevin Delaney, my friend and former colleague at The Wall Street Journal, for sitting down with me for our "forest side" chat to dig into this question. Here’s what stood out: + 𝗔𝗜 & 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. Don’t promise certainty. Share a hypothesis, define the signals you’ll watch, and show confidence in the team to adapt. + 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀. Entry roles are shifting. Some orgs assign “one-level-up” work and ask juniors to 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘐. And it’s working. + 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗽. Most tools boost 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭 productivity, but real work is 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. Cracking that is the next unlock. + 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗯. The Standard is using AI to automate records requests—fueling reporting like the ICE/SF license plate surveillance story. Kevin is just 12 days into his new role as editor-in-chief of The San Francisco Standard, while still leading editorial efforts at Charter, the future-of-work company he co-founded and grew into a research-backed, community-driven platform that Bloomberg and the Financial Times invested in, and that Michael Moritz recently acquired. He joined us yesterday for day one for our San Francisco AI in Local News Summit, organized by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and co-hosted by OpenAI and Northwestern University Medill School, in partnership with Microsoft. AI is much more than an efficiency play. It’s a rewrite of leadership, entry ramps into careers, and how teams create together. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻: What’s one concrete change you’ve made to lead through AI? A policy, a ritual, a metric, a team practice? Drop it below. I’ll compile the best examples. Big thanks to Jim Friedlich and Chris Patheiger for 📸 #AI #FutureOfWork #Leadership #LocalNews #Journalism

Excited for our Lenfest Institute for Journalism's AI Collaborative & Fellowship colleagues at ProPublica and their newly hired fellows: Dana Chiueh 👩🏻💻and Aaron Brezel. We’re grateful for The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation’s support, which has helped extend the reach and capabilities of ProPublica’s participation in our AI collaborative. In partnership with Lenfest, OpenAI, and Microsoft, this program brings together 10 leading news organizations across the U.S. to responsibly explore how AI can strengthen investigative reporting, newsroom innovation, and the future of local journalism. Read the full announcement from ProPublica here: https://lnkd.in/gpniUy9n Special thanks to Tom Rubin, Varun Shetty, Christina Lim, Yiren Lu, David Duxin, Noreen Gillespie, Jennifer Marsman, Anna Roth, Nikki Freeman, Jim Friedlich, Tristan Loper, Tesnim Z., Vilas Dhar, Robin Sparkman, Tyson Evans, Ben Werdmuller, and many others.

At a Lenfest Communities of Practice event last month, Madison Karas and Patrick Boehler shared a theory of service for journalism. The formula is simple: journalism is a service of providing information, relevance ensures it matters to people’s lives, and time allows for use and reflection. Together, they ensure that reporting helps people make better decisions for themselves, creating measurable public good. There are promising beginnings of this work happening across the field, but how can journalists fully adopt this approach while navigating the existing systems that resist change? Karas and Boehler identified the forces holding journalists back from a service-oriented approach to their work and explored ideas for putting this theory into practice through conversations with journalists across the industry. The two will return for another workshop with the Lenfest Communities of Practice on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. EDT / 11 a.m. EDT to discuss specific implementation strategies. Link to register in the comments.