Journalists on their robot pretenders

Grafik: ktsdesign / fotolia.com
Grafik: ktsdesign / fotolia.com
In spite of its limitations, automated journalism will expand. According to media researchers, this development underlines the need for critical, contextualised journalism. Journalists and editors believe 'robo-journalists' do not have a good nose for news and produce one-dimensional stories, according to new research published today. However, despite these limitations, the report reveals plans for the technology to be rolled out more widely with the potential to replace "hundreds" of journalists at Thomson Reuters alone. The researchers, Professor Neil Thurman (LMU Munich), Konstantin Dörr (University of Zurich) and Dr. Jessica Kunert (LMU Munich), interviewed journalists, editors, and executives from CNN, BBC, Thomson Reuters, Trinity Mirror, and News UK in an exploratory study. The journalists were given hands-on experience with robo-writing software during a workshop. Robo - or automated - journalism, is software that converts structured data into stories with limited to no human intervention beyond the initial programming.
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