University-run news?
Plus, how Le Monde uses AI to translate articles
Hi there,
After the Washington Post shut down its Spanish-language news podcast, the podcast relaunched recently at an unusual place: Georgetown University.
The podcast is housed under Georgetown’s Americas Institute, which hosts events & funds research examining challenges facing Latin America. The Institute was founded in 2020 with a $25 million gift from Monica and Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster, who is the CEO of InterEnergy, a company active in Latin America. Denisse Yanovich, managing director of the Institute, said the podcast will grow the Institute's reach in Latin America and bring attention to the work of Georgetown scholars.
Universities and journalism organizations are natural allies. They share many values, including freedom of thought and reverence for truth, and both have an interest in reaching influential audiences.
Given their missions, both types of organizations must also navigate the potential influences of their funders. The best practices apply similarly: Rather than vilifying any one funding source, it’s generally better to understand the potential conflicts of interest, take steps to enable editorial or academic integrity, and disclose those conflicts where appropriate.
Given the turbulence in our media ecosystem today, it’s worth considering unconventional models, particularly when there’s alignment in values. For society as a whole, good journalism is good journalism, whether it’s produced at a news company or a university.
Here’s today’s case study:
Le Monde is leveraging AI for translating articles from French to English. Here is the process:
Le Monde sends French-language articles to an outside firm, TranslationServices.com.
That firm runs the articles through DeepL, an AI translation service.
Editors at TranslationServices.com review the AI-generated copy and make adjustments, based on a stylebook provided by Le Monde.
Finally, the English-language article is reviewed by an editor at Le Monde before publication.
And here’s the latest news in digital media:
On publishers:
ProPublica staffers are unionizing.
Gear Patrol will acquire Digital Photography Review, which was set to be shut down by its owner Amazon.
The NYT is asking readers to collect data about birds in a citizen science project.
Margaret Sullivan gave a Q&A about her podcast that will explore “whether journalism, at its best, can help save democracy.”
Growth in fact-checking sites has flattened after rising sharply over the past decade.
On platforms:
Newsletter platform beehiiv raised a $12.5m Series A.
Patreon added a free subscription tier that creators can leverage.
Discord enabled creators to sell digital products via the platform.
Pocket and The American Journalism Project partnered to surface more local news to readers.
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