MANILA, Philippines – Rappler is among 5 news organizations selected as finalists for the global AI in Journalism Challenge, and the only Filipino newsroom to make it through an intensive three-month competition to create and pitch ideas on newsroom applications of artificial intelligence (AI).

A total of 113 newsrooms from all over the world applied for the program, which aims to fund projects on AI workflows and tools that can help newsrooms be more productive and serve their audiences better. Only 12 newsrooms were chosen to participate in the program in August this year, where the teams polished their ideas after attending a series of workshops.

A pitching session was held on October 12, where only 5 newsrooms were selected as finalists who will be presenting at the Splice Beta Journalism Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This will be held on Thursday, November 9.

Aside from Rappler, the other finalists of the competition include Indonesia’s The Conversation, Brazil’s Agencia Publica, Colombia’s Cuestion Publica, and Zamaneh Media, an Iranian broadcaster operating in the Netherlands.

Representing Rappler in the competition are Don Kevin Hapal, Gilian Uy, and Matthew Yuching.

TLDR: Rappler’s AI playground

Rappler’s pitch focused on a spin-off brand called TLDR. The project aims to address the needs of young media consumers, as well as the realities of journalists who struggle to retain the attention of their readers and keep up with the ever-developing technology.

TL;DR – named after a Gen Z and a millennial slang term meaning “too long; didn’t read” – aims to provide clear, straightforward, and visual content primarily for Gen Z media consumers. With the help of AI, the project aims to help Rappler journalists create short-form content for social media while retaining Rappler’s brand of intelligent and thought-provoking content.

TLDR proposes a set of AI-powered workflows that turn Rappler content into summarized formats made for sharing on social media. It is designed to help journalists with minimal exposure to creative tools, as well as help producers and artists offload low-hanging fruits, allowing them to focus on in-depth and high-quality content.

The project uses AI tools to assist in converting Rappler stories into various derivatives including text summaries, graphics, and videos. It also aims to be a framework for introducing generative AI into the newsroom, providing a soft entry into the world of AI, and allowing its journalists, editors, and artists to explore practical AI applications in a fun and imaginative manner without feeling intimidated.

While the project hopes to improve the newsroom’s productivity with AI tools, Rappler’s exploration will be anchored on its guidelines on AI use. The TLDR project emphasizes that AI tools will only be used to assist its employees and not to replace them, recognizing the supremacy of human critical thinking, creativity, and judgment. – Rappler.com