The clatter of typewriters may be a distant memory, but the news industry is once again on the cusp of a major transformation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly making its way into newsrooms, promising to reshape everything from research and data analysis to content creation and audience engagement.

Are you wondering how AI will impact your day-to-day work? Will it replace your role, or become a powerful tool to enhance your skills and free you to focus on the most critical aspects of journalism?

This special focus track during the New England Newspaper Convention on March 23 is your invitation to explore these questions and more. We understand that the rise of AI can be both exciting and daunting. These sessions and resources are being presented to help you navigate the future of journalism.

Don’t be left behind. Join us as we delve into the transformative power of AI in journalism and discover how you can harness this technology to elevate your news production.

We recommend bringing a laptop to these sessions and registering in advance for the software programs mentioned in the session descriptions so you can follow along with the presenters.

Saturday, March 23, 9:00 am
Introduction to AI Tools
We’ve been using AI tools for years and haven’t even realized it. However, the influx of tools flooding the market in 2022 and early 2023 raises opportunities as well as ethical and legal concerns. In this combination presentation/workshop, Mike Reilley will approach AI with “cautious curiosity” and learn how to harness the tools to save you time and work. We’ll work with MidJourney and Adobe Firefly to create photo illustrations; basic editing tools; writing prompts and updates to tools such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and others. We’ll also explore some pitfalls of AI tools and the legal/ethical issues surrounding them. Participants will get a handout with links to tools and other resources.

Saturday, March 23, 10:30 am
Data Journalism Fundamentals
Mike Reilley will cover data scraping web pages with Google Sheets, and scraping PDFs with Tabula and PDFtoExcel.com. Building graphics with Flourish.studio. Before the session, participants should set up a free account at https://flourish.studio/. They also should download free Tabula software here: https://tabula.technology/. Participants will get a handout with links to tools and other resources.

Saturday, March 23, 2:00 pm
Two Revolutions in the Newsroom: Mobile Storytelling and Artificial Intelligence
In this presentation, Dr. Mario R. Garcia will discuss the challenges facing editors transforming their news operations to become mobile-first operations, while also ushering in Artificial Intelligence and the important role that it already plays in various aspects of gathering and creating content. Case studies and examples will illustrate the best approaches for incorporating the changes brought about by mobile first and Artificial Intelligence, the subject of Dr. Garcia’s newest book: AI: The Next Revolution for Content Creation (2024).

Curious about the entire schedule? Check out the links below to navigate the information about the convention and explore the sessions. Register now to lock in your spot and don’t miss this incredible opportunity to learn, network, and get inspired!

The New England Newspaper Convention is happening on March 22 and 23 at the Westin Waltham Hotel located at 70 3rd Ave, Waltham, MA 02451. Stay over and take advantage of our special room rate of $149 per night, with free parking. The room reservation rate has been extended until Friday, March 15, 2024.

There are several networking opportunities open to all attendees and honoring the best in the New England newspaper industry throughout the convention with our other ticketed events:

We hope to see you there!

If you have any questions about the convention, please email info@nenpa.com.

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