About that Cleveland column

AI and accountability

Chris Quinn, the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, struck a nerve over the weekend with a column about how some journalism schools are instilling in students a fear of artificial intelligence rather than teaching them how to use it effectively. His example was a recent J-school grad who withdrew from consideration for a reporting role because of how the paper uses AI in its work.

The reaction from journalists on social media was sharp, especially when it came to Quinn’s description of how his newsroom has an “AI rewrite specialist” that turns some reporters’ interviews and research into story drafts, allowing them to focus more fully on reporting.

The column sparked an industry-wide conversation on the role of AI in newsrooms. At the American Press Institute, we believe AI can play a constructive role when it is used ethically, supervised by humans and when leaders are transparent with readers about how it is being used.

While Quinn should be applauded for his transparency, his case against journalism education was anecdotal and full of unsupported generalizations, and he failed to explain to readers how using AI improves the journalism.

Teaching students to question how AI is used, who controls it and how it affects authorship and accountability is core journalism training, said API executive director Robyn Tomlin. That work is preparation for the future, not resistance to it.

In his column, Quinn noted that the newsroom’s AI usage freed up resources “by removing writing from reporters’ workloads.” But the writing process is often where critical thinking occurs and where a reporter’s assumptions are tested.

“Writing is how journalists test their thinking and surface gaps in their reporting,” Tomlin said. “When early-career reporters are denied the opportunity to write — and to struggle with writing — they lose a critical part of their professional formation.”

Quinn was careful to describe how humans are involved in editing and fact-checking, and how they “control every step.”

Even so, the reaction of journalists shows just how explosive this topic remains in the profession  — and the kind of backlash news leaders can face as they explore new ways to use the powerful technology in their work.

“News leaders should strive to make a compelling case to readers — the people journalism exists to serve — for how the use of AI improves the journalism they receive,” Tomlin said. “Simply saying it frees up time does not show how AI meaningfully improves accuracy, depth or trust. Efficiency alone is not a journalistic value.”

• Try it out: Building trust with AI (Trusting News)
• Also: AI ethics guidelines: A starter kit for newsrooms (Poynter)

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> A look inside the relentless mind of the FOIA reporter whom US government agencies fear most (Reuters Institute)

Maurice Oniang’o spoke with Bloomberg investigative reporter Jason Leopold, who has filed more than 13,000 public records requests in the United States over two decades. He shares his tricks of the trade, including how to persist — and follow up — when agencies are withholding information. “I never move on. I always push them, and I will always appeal,” he says.

• Related: How journalists use FOIA as an investigative tool (Law Street Media)

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Culture & Inclusion

>> A Black newspaper in the former capital of the Confederacy is closing (The Washington Post)

Raymond H. Boone Sr., left his job teaching journalism at Howard University in 1992 to found The Richmond Free Press because “he saw a media landscape that he thought failed Black readers” in the commonwealth’s capital, writes Scott Nover. After Boone died in 2014, his wife Jean kept the paper going. Now it has published its final print edition, though she seemed to leave the door open for some kind of return, Nover writes.

• Read: Jean Boone’s farewell message on Instagram.

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Community Engagement & Trust

>>  Bystander video is driving the biggest stories in America. The next era of journalism will be built on verifying it. (Poynter)

Alex Mahadevan, director of Poynter’s MediaWise program, writes about how journalists are using visual investigations to verify — or debunk — video of major news events like the Minneapolis shootings. This verification process is necessary, he writes, because even as video has become powerful evidence in today’s journalism, AI is also making it easier to fake or manipulate. He talks with experts in the field about the techniques they use.

• Plus: Amateur detectives and a new kind of journalist descend on Nancy Guthrie case (USA Today)

>> Join us tomorrow: AMA on local news, trusted messengers and history

Americans face increasing news fatigue and dissatisfaction with national politics. But they often love and value the community they live in — and that offers unique opportunities for local news, including in 2026, our country’s semiquincentennial. Join Sam Ragland tomorrow, Feb. 19, for an interactive session from API and the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship.

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Revenue & Resilience

>> In graphic detail: Subscriptions are rising at big news publishers – even as traffic shrinks (Digiday)

Sara Guaglione analyzed the subscription and paid reader revenue trends among big publishers and found that for some, growth isn’t just steady, it’s actually speeding up. “The backbone of this growth is packaging up other verticals, newsletters and premium briefings to raise average revenue per user and reduce churn,” she writes.

• Plus: Hearst posts record revenues and profits as B2B business grows (Axios)

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What else you need to know

🤬 Colbert doesn’t give an FCC about calling out CBS (The New York Times)

🤖 Ars Technica pulls article with AI fabricated quotes about AI generated article (404 Media)

👥 Study finds emphasis on conversation facilitation helps journalists re-engage communities (KU News)

🤨Washington Post layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, preliminary Guild data shows (Nieman Lab)

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