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In February 2023, shortly after ChatGPT’s launch, the renowned American sports magazine, Sports Illustrated, revealed plans to cut jobs for journalists while increasing AI-generated content. This decision stirred strong reactions within the sports community. The magazine’s owners, The Arena Group, responded with a statement, clarifying that the layoffs were part of a larger restructuring effort. They emphasized their belief that AI could not replace journalists or editors, stating, “We’ll keep experimenting with AI software to enhance our extensive archives and streamline editing processes.”
Nonetheless, this move left many sports journalists questioning their job security, wondering, “Could I be the next to go?”
Google’s advances towards the big publishers
Google has entered the arena of news generation, making a big move that caught everyone’s attention. In July, The New York Times unveiled a covert project known as “Google Genesis.” This project aims to create news stories for newspapers by functioning as a kind of personal assistant for journalists. It can digest information, such as details about current events, and transform it into news content.
Reportedly, Google has presented this tool to media giants like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal. In typical Google fashion, they remained tight-lipped about the project, offering no official comments.
As of now, Google has not released Genesis to the general public, and there’s uncertainty surrounding whether they will do so. It might be made available only to a select group of trusted news organizations.
While the specifics of Genesis remain shrouded in mystery, there’s already a comparable tool in the market for sports news publishers. Attentionflow.ai offers an automatic publishing tool designed for sports websites. This tool can process substantial volumes of sports data and produce articles. These articles can include match previews, post-game reviews, or round-up summaries of leagues.
Unlike Google Genesis, Attentionflow.ai’s tool is already operational and being successfully used by sports websites. Tore Friskopp, the founder of Attentionflow, pointed out, “The challenge is not in producing content using AI, as anyone can do that nowadays. The true challenge is what and when to publish. Our clients get the right content, at the right time, automatically. Our internal team of sports editors also fact check every article before it’s published.”
The continued evolution of technology in publishing
The publishing industry has long been at the forefront of technological advancements. Newspapers and online publishers have consistently embraced new technologies to enhance their operations. Innovations like word processing, spell-check software, and digital cameras have significantly improved efficiency in content creation. Today, it’s inconceivable for a sports journalist to be without a smartphone and an internet connection, enabling them to update and publish directly from the stadium. Looking ahead, the sports journalists of tomorrow will likely rely on AI to assist in crafting their initial drafts; AI will become an essential tool in their toolbox.
AI’s ability to streamline sports reporting
Artificial intelligence possesses the capability to process extensive datasets, identify intriguing aspects of a game, and subsequently generate articles based on this information. When performed manually, such a task can be exceedingly time-consuming for any journalist. However, entrusting this process to a machine beforehand not only saves time but also empowers journalists to allocate more of their efforts to other critical areas, such as in-depth analysis of coaching strategies, players’ performance assessment, and conducting genuine interviews with players and fans.
AI won’t replace you, but it will enhance human work
The rise of AI doesn’t spell doom for journalists; rather, it presents a shift in how humans utilize technology. The ability to swiftly and cost-effectively produce game previews and match reports offers a wealth of opportunities. Newspapers and sports websites can not only trim their expenses but also expand their coverage across more leagues, sports, and languages, ultimately reaching a broader fan base and driving more traffic to their platforms.
“Whoever grabs those opportunities first will have an edge towards their competitors.” Tore Friskopp says. “We are already seeing new players entering the scene, utilizing software analyzing data and AI to generate drafts, starting to compete with the old and established publishers. Small companies are usually quicker to innovate and adapt to new technologies.”
Much like photographers who resisted the shift to digital cameras, journalists who overlook the benefits of AI may find it challenging to match the productivity of their AI-augmented colleagues. AI won’t replace you, but those who harness it will be empowered to outperform in their roles, making humans wielding AI a force to be reckoned with.
Embracing technology: Unlocking new possibilities
For those journalists and publishers who opt to embrace this technology, a world of opportunities awaits. Here are some exciting prospects on the horizon:
Expand local coverage:
Historically, local teams and leagues often received inadequate attention from major publishers due to cost considerations. However, the emergence of generative AI is changing the game. Publishers now have the means to offer their readers more comprehensive local stories, transcending the limitations imposed by audience size.
Delve deeper into stories:
Without the need to allocate resources to tedious data rewrites, journalists can dive deeper into the stories that truly matter. This means more time for interviews with players, coaches, and fans, allowing for a more human-centric narrative. It also enables the discovery of breaking stories that can create significant impact.
Broaden coverage across leagues and sports:
Traditionally, the high cost of finding a journalist with expertise in obscure or foreign leagues and sports deterred publishers from exploring such opportunities. However, as costs decrease, new possibilities emerge.
Tore Friskopp, founder of Attentionflow, affirms, “We can cover almost any sport or league. As long as there is available data, we can cover it at a reasonable cost. Our system automatically analyzes traffic data and knows what to publish and when. Making it easy for publishers to widen their coverage.”
The evolution and resurgence of sports journalism
The shift in technology has ushered in a wave of challenges and opportunities in the realm of sports journalism. While certain tasks like rewrites and data analysis are now entrusted to technology, this paradigm shift also opens up fresh horizons. The reduced production costs have revolutionized the traditional cost-benefit equation.
Those who seize these opportunities will find themselves capable of achieving far more than ever before. This includes delving into more profound narratives, expanding coverage across a wider spectrum, and reaching a larger audience. For those who wholeheartedly embrace it, the future of sports journalism holds a promising and radiant outlook.
Sport journalism is dead – long live Sport journalism.