The Fight over AI at McClatchy

“Until we have solid language here, we’re not going to feel safe about the integrity of our jobs—or the language our readers read.”

Nicole Blanchard, an investigative reporter at the Idaho Statesman, is also identified, internally, as an AI champion. “It’s kind of formal, in that it’s a role,” she told me, “but it isn’t so formal that I have certain responsibilities.” The title was bestowed by McClatchy, the Statesman’s parent company; AI champions dot the country, across the roughly thirty newsrooms under its ownership. Essentially, as Blanchard sees it, the appointment is for people “willing to try different AI technology or be aware of different AI technology, and report back, and encourage people to check it out. Or be upbeat about it to the newsroom.” Blanchard has a genuine interest, she told me, and has been active in trying out digital tools: for a recent piece on a podcast called The Ranch—“a guy in a garage,” as she put it, interviewing Idaho’s governor, lieutenant governor, and “others who refuse to give interviews to legacy media”—she used an AI assist to compile a list of all the guests. “I was stoked,” she said. Still, “I’m a terrible champion,” she wanted me to know. “I have not found a whole lot that’s super useful.”