Should News Orgs Date Companies?
How lessons learned from journalism's partnerships with tech companies like Google, Meta and Twitter that can inform successful collaborations with AI companies today.
We've been down this road before — tech loves us, courts us, funds us, and then ghosts us. Will it be the same with big AI companies, or will it be different this time?
Tech + journalism veterans Benjamin Wagner, Madhav Chinnappa, and Niketa Patelisn considered these questions as they joined Burt Herman and Paul Cheung on July 23rd to launch AI Real Talk, a new series from Hacks/Hackers. The panel explored how lessons learned from journalism's partnerships with tech companies like Google, Meta and Twitter that can inform successful collaborations with AI companies today.
Watch their discussion on YouTube:
Speakers
Benjamin Wagner is a consultant, creative, and founder of Essential Industries, a boutique consulting firm specializing in individual and organizational strategy, transformation, and communication. From his half-decade helping launch Facebook’s Journalism Project globally to his tenure helping transform MTV News and award-winning PBS documentary, Mister Rogers & Me, Benjamin's focus is the essential nature of our shared human experience.
Madhav Chinnappa is a senior executive consultant who has worked at the intersection of news, technology, AI and sustainability globally for more than two decades in both the commercial and public service sectors. He has extensive experience with journalism funding and sustainability having launched the DNI Fund, the GNI Innovation Challenge programme and the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund while at Google. He has worked in the news industry since 1994 - first in the launch team of Associated Press Television (APTV), a year in M&A at United News & Media and spent over 9 years at BBC News, latterly as Head of Development & Rights. He is currently the fractional VP of Partnerships for Human Native AI as well as leading a thought leadership event series around AI and news for the Thomson Foundation.
Niketa Patel is the Senior Director of Leadership Programs at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. She previously served as the Senior Director of Partnerships at The 19th and led Print and Digital News Partnerships in the US for Twitter, where she collaborated with newsrooms on strategic initiatives and product adoption. She is Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Online News Association and is actively involved in ONA, AAJA, and SAJA.
About AI Real Talk
What are the potential benefits, risks, and ethical considerations of AI in journalism and across the media landscape? In a fast -paced, constantly evolving technology landscape, what are the latest provocative and timely issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and journalism?
To discuss these topics, join Hacks/Hackers for AI Real Talk, a series of insightful, hype-free, and brutally honest discussions with industry experts and thought leaders that aims to help journalists and others navigate this new era in technology.
