[US] $5 million OpenAI local news deal

OpenAI, the parent company to ChatGPT, has reached reached a two-year deal with the American Journalism Project (AJP) to help fund efforts by local outlets to experiment with AI technology, Axios reports.

The deal represents part of a larger effort by OpenAI to work with journalism companies on news and tech-sharing agreements.

In early July, The Associated Press said it had reached a two-year deal with OpenAI to share access to select news content and to leverage OpenAI's technology for product experimentation.

Sources told Axios that the company is currently in discussions with other major news companies about licensing news content and tech-sharing deals.

OpenAI will reportedly commit $5 million in funding for local news initiatives through the AJP, which supports non-profit, local news outlets through grants and other support efforts.

The AJP will distribute the funding via grants to ten of its 41 portfolio organisations. Those organisations will experiment with best practices for ways local news outlets can leverage AI responsibly in their newsrooms, products and revenue teams.

In addition, the funding willsupport the creation of a new product studio within AJP that will support local news outlets as they experiment with OpenAI's technology, Sarabeth Berman - CEO of AJP- said.

The studio will reportedly include three full-time AJP staffers and will also serve as a central hub to share feedback and best practices with external partners such as OpenAI on what's working and what's not.

"We see this as an opportunity to create a feedback loop between OpenAI and the local journalism industry," Ms Berman said.

OpenAI will also provide up to $5 million worth of credits that can be used by AJP's portfolio companies to access its tech products, in addition to the $5 million grant funding.

Local news companies awarded credits will be encouraged to experiment with ways the technology can be leveraged across entire news organisations.

Newsrooms might, for example, find it easier to sort through complex FOIA data using AI, Ms Berman said or product teams may be able to leverage generative AI to personalise products for consumers.

The internet was a huge detriment to the business models of the majority of local news companies and the rise of giant social media and search companies further complicated that issue.

Ms Berman told Axios that she views AJP's partnership with OpenAI as an opportunity to get ahead of the curve, however, she remains cautious about over-relying on handouts from tech firms.

"This partnership is a recognition that we are about to enter yet another really transformative moment for our industry," she said. "We need to be smart about how we are deploying these new technologies to bolster and not undermine local journalism."

Responding to whether she was worried about AI companies one day pulling the plug on funding for news companies, in common with Meta, Ms Berman said it's "totally a possibility." 

However, she pointed out that currently OpenAI appears to be leveraging a different model than Meta and Google, which announced massive news efforts in the wake of regulatory scrutiny.

Source: Axios

(Quotes and links via original reporting)

OpenAI, the parent company to ChatGPT, has reached reached a two-year deal with the American Journalism Project (AJP) to help fund efforts by local outlets to experiment with AI technology, Axios reports.

The deal represents part of a larger effort by OpenAI to work with journalism companies on news and tech-sharing agreements.

In early July, The Associated Press said it had reached a two-year deal with OpenAI to share access to select news content and to leverage OpenAI's technology for product experimentation.

Sources told Axios that the company is currently in discussions with other major news companies about licensing news content and tech-sharing deals.

OpenAI will reportedly commit $5 million in funding for local news initiatives through the AJP, which supports non-profit, local news outlets through grants and other support efforts.

The AJP will distribute the funding via grants to ten of its 41 portfolio organisations. Those organisations will experiment with best practices for ways local news outlets can leverage AI responsibly in their newsrooms, products and revenue teams.

In addition, the funding willsupport the creation of a new product studio within AJP that will support local news outlets as they experiment with OpenAI's technology, Sarabeth Berman - CEO of AJP- said.

The studio will reportedly include three full-time AJP staffers and will also serve as a central hub to share feedback and best practices with external partners such as OpenAI on what's working and what's not.

"We see this as an opportunity to create a feedback loop between OpenAI and the local journalism industry," Ms Berman said.

OpenAI will also provide up to $5 million worth of credits that can be used by AJP's portfolio companies to access its tech products, in addition to the $5 million grant funding.

Local news companies awarded credits will be encouraged to experiment with ways the technology can be leveraged across entire news organisations.

Newsrooms might, for example, find it easier to sort through complex FOIA data using AI, Ms Berman said or product teams may be able to leverage generative AI to personalise products for consumers.

The internet was a huge detriment to the business models of the majority of local news companies and the rise of giant social media and search companies further complicated that issue.

Ms Berman told Axios that she views AJP's partnership with OpenAI as an opportunity to get ahead of the curve, however, she remains cautious about over-relying on handouts from tech firms.

"This partnership is a recognition that we are about to enter yet another really transformative moment for our industry," she said. "We need to be smart about how we are deploying these new technologies to bolster and not undermine local journalism."

Responding to whether she was worried about AI companies one day pulling the plug on funding for news companies, in common with Meta, Ms Berman said it's "totally a possibility." 

However, she pointed out that currently OpenAI appears to be leveraging a different model than Meta and Google, which announced massive news efforts in the wake of regulatory scrutiny.

Source: Axios

(Quotes and links via original reporting)