How we use AI at TMJ4
You may have noticed this transparency disclaimer at the bottom of some of our recent stories on TMJ4.com.
“This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.”
The disclaimer helps to identify when TMJ4 journalists use AI. Our parent company, Scripps, introduced an internal AI chatbot tool to help our journalists with some tasks.
This article details how we use AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic. It also explains how we won’t use the tools, as well as the checks and balances we have set up in our newsroom.
This is in addition to Scripps’ company policies on using AI. A copy of those policies is available at this link.
As with any piece of technology, things can change. We will update this article if any changes affect our journalism.
Commitment to transparency and editorial review
- We commit to being transparent with the audience when AI is used in a significant way in a story.
- We commit to journalists being responsible for our final product, regardless of how AI is involved in our process.
- As technology evolves, we commit to transparently updating our policies.
How we do not use AI
- We do not use AI to write stories or scripts from scratch.
- We do not use AI to generate photorealistic images or videos.
Example: Converting a broadcast script to a digital web story:
Our most common use of AI is using the tool to convert TV scripts from a broadcast format to a digital story.
Here's what a broadcast script might look like. This script is written to accompany video:
STANDUP:
IM MERYL HUBBARD IN WEST ALLIS TO SHARE SOME WAYS YOU CAN SAVE ON HALLOWEEN CANDY THIS SEASON.
VO:
TRICK OR TREATING MAY COME WITH A SPOOKY SPIKE IN PRICE THIS SEASON AND SHOPPERS IN WEST ALLIS ARE TAKING NOTICE.
PEGGY STOOP HAS STARTED HER SWEETS SHOPPING AND HAS SEEN A JUMP IN THE PRICE FOR CHOCOLATE AS INFLATION IS DRIVING UP THE COST OF KEY INGREDIENTS LIKE BUTTER, MILK, CREAM AND EGGS.
SHE'S SEEN TAGS AS HIGH AS 30 TO 40 DOLLARS FOR ONE VARIETY PACK OF CHOCOLATE CANDY.
SOT: (PEGGY STOOP / SHOPPER)
"For people who are buying for a neighborhood for trick or treat kids. You know, I thought we're looking at some steep increases here. So how they'll afford that? I don't know."
When we ask our chatbot tool to convert the script’s format, this is what the digital version looks like:
West Allis shoppers are discovering that trick-or-treating may come with a spooky spike in price this season.
Peggy Stoop has started her sweets shopping and has seen a jump in the price for chocolate as inflation is driving up the cost of key ingredients like butter, milk, cream and eggs. She's seen tags as high as $30 to $40 for one variety pack of chocolate candy.
"For people who are buying for a neighborhood for trick or treat kids. You know, I thought we're looking at some steep increases here. So how they'll afford that? I don't know," Stoop said.
Our journalists understand that human review is necessary.
This includes checking for errors and adding more context and information that might not have made the TV version. All stories are edited and reviewed before publication.
Summarizing lengthy documents
We might give lengthy reports, meeting summaries or other similar documents to the chatbot tool and ask it to identify the main takeaways and newsworthy angles.
Story ideas
Our greatest tool when it comes to finding stories in our community will always be our journalists, but when seeking out follow-ups and related coverage, AI can be a starting point for finding creative angles.
Questions?
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