Joe Amditis: Harnessing the Power of ChatGPT for Local Newsrooms

In this episode, we explore the potential of ChatGPT for local newsrooms with Joe Amditis, author of Beginner's Prompt Handbook: ChatGPT for Local News Publishers. Joe is the Assistant Director of Products and Events at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Communication and Media, and the producer and host of the WTF Just Happened Today podcast. 

Joe, a veteran of the NJ Army National Guard, was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and his unit was activated to help with Hurricane Irene relief efforts in 2011. He earned a BA in political science and criminal justice from Rutgers in 2013 and an MA in engaged journalism from the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in 2016. He was co-founder and director of operations of Muckgers, an award-winning, student-focused investigative news outlet, until 2014.

Joe has also coordinated several collaborative reporting projects, including Democracy Day, a nationwide reporting collaborative involving 300+ newsrooms across the United States.

We explore the exciting world of ChatGPT and its potential to revolutionize local journalism, discussing the transformative power of generative AI, ethical considerations, prompt engineering, and the future of local newsrooms in the age of AI. 

Joe can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @jsamditis.

Here’s a list of helpful resources concerning today’s episode:

1. Beginner's Prompt Handbook: ChatGPT for Local News Publishers (Center for Cooperative Media) - Discover Joe's comprehensive guide to using ChatGPT in local newsrooms.
2. Giant List of Useful Tools and Websites (Center for Cooperative Media) - A treasure trove of tools and resources for newsroom operations.
3. Template: ChatGPT Usage and Newsroom Ethics Policy (Center for Cooperative Media) - This template facilitates transparency in newsrooms' ethics policies regarding the use and disclosure of generative AI.
4. Trusting News Newsletter (Trusting News) - Stay informed about building trust in journalism with this insightful newsletter.
5. Journalism AI Starter Pack (LSE) - Get started with AI in journalism with this comprehensive resource from the London School of Economics.

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