How The Generative AI Boom Proves We Need Journalism

Danielle Coffey, CEO and president of the News/Media Alliance, believes journalism and generative AI can play nice.

But first, generative AI companies must get real about the value journalism brings to their products.

“This doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game,” Coffey told AdExchanger. “These innovative technologies are very promising, but it doesn’t have to be at the expense of journalism.”

AI companies acknowledge the value of journalism, Coffey said… So, she argued, they should look at working with journalists as part of the cost of doing business – similar to how Netflix or Spotify compensate content creators for their IP.

Click here to read the rest of the Q&A on AdExchanger‘s website.

Related:

News/Media Alliance Artificial Intelligence articles

Alliance CEO Op-Ed: Can AI companies and media publishers work together?

AI White Paper: How the Pervasive Copying of Expressive Works to Train and Fuel Generative Artificial Intelligence Systems Is Copyright Infringement And Not a Fair Use

AI Principles

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Opinion: Can AI companies and media publishers work together?

Licensing agreements and permissions would protect the news industry’s work while delivering higher-quality AI content

Generative artificial intelligence has the potential to reshape the digital economy and alter the online experience for millions of consumers. Systems that rely on large language models have already ushered in rapid changes to the news media landscape, and many journalists today are using these tools. But as these technologies become more prevalent, we must develop appropriate guardrails that protect the intellectual property rights of media publishers.

Every day, publishers in print and digital media invest in the creation of high-quality content that is informative, trustworthy and engaging.

Click here to read the rest of the op-ed on The Mercury News‘s website.

Related:

News/Media Alliance Artificial Intelligence articles

AI White Paper: How the Pervasive Copying of Expressive Works to Train and Fuel Generative Artificial Intelligence Systems Is Copyright Infringement And Not a Fair Use

AI Principles

The post Alliance CEO Op-Ed: Can AI companies and media publishers work together? appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Alliance President and CEO Danielle Coffey stated, “The New York Times’s complaint demonstrates the value of quality journalism to AI developers. These companies repurpose and monetize news content, competing with the very industry they are benefiting from. Quality journalism and GenAI can complement each other if approached collaboratively, but using journalism without permission or payment is unlawful, and certainly not fair use.”

In a White Paper released in October, an analysis commissioned by the Alliance found that there is heavy reliance on journalistic and creative content by AI training models along with verbatim text from articles found in AI outputs.  The findings support a legal claim, parallel to the same findings asserted in The New York Times’s complaint.

Coffey continued, “The value of quality journalism has been debated for years.  We are at a point where the question is not whether quality journalism should be compensated, rather a question of how much.  In the case of AI, copyright protected content used without authorization should be a priority in releasing these technologies to the public so that responsible innovation can live alongside responsible reporting.”

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The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news, magazine, and digital media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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Reports indicate meaningful monetary value is at stake and a willingness to limit license on display that comes with attribution commitments.

Coffey continued, “We represent the industry and are working on an option available to all publishers in a way that makes sense and provides equity and fairness. OpenAI is doing the right thing to ensure technology and quality journalism exist and thrive in harmony. Our members are exploring all options, and we are ensuring no one is left behind.”

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The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news, magazine, and digital media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

The post News/Media Alliance Applauds Global AI Partnership between Axel Springer and OpenAI appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The News/Media Alliance, which merged with MPA – The Association of Magazine Media in July 2022 – works with its members to advance news and magazine industry priorities through advocacy, critical research, resources and events that demonstrate the value and importance of supporting and preserving a free and independent press.

“We are delighted to welcome these 16 news, magazine, and digital media organizations to the Alliance family, and we are grateful for their support and their recognition of the need to share a voice on important issues facing the industry,” stated News/Media Alliance President & CEO Danielle Coffey. “The support of these innovative, multimedia businesses are invaluable as we continue to advocate on behalf of the industry and fight for the future of journalistic and creative content.”

The need to support and sustain quality journalism has reached a new level of urgency this year, as the rapid adoption of generative AI has introduced yet another threat to publishers of original content. The Alliance published a White Paper in October that found AI companies significantly overweight publisher content in their crawling of the web – often while not paying the publishers who invested in producing that content – to train their generative AI systems, coming in direct competition with publishers, as well as infringing on publishers’ copyrights.

The Alliance continues to push for legislation to require Big Tech platforms such as Meta and Google to pay publishers for the use of their content, with the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA) being reintroduced in the Senate earlier this year. Canada recently passed similar legislation, which is modeled after the law in Australia that has been extremely successful, and the California State Assembly introduced a state journalism compensation bill that was the subject of a Senate informational hearing last week.

In addition, the News/Media Alliance works on behalf of its members to advocate on press freedom/First Amendment issues, privacy, digital advertising, copyright, postal delivery and more.

New News/Media Alliance members in 2023 include (not a complete list):

• AlterNet
• American Craft Council
• California Broker Magazine
• The Economist
• Future PLC
• G/O Media Inc.
• Grandstand Publishing LLC
• The Guardian
• Hughes Media Corp.
• Raptive
• Raw Story
• Rookie Road
• Style Media Group Inc.
• Today Media Inc.
• Ziff Davis

Coffey continued, “We look forward to working with our new members and all of membership to move forward key legislative and policy initiatives and demonstrate the importance and need for high-quality content in an information-driven world.”

For more information about membership in the News/Media Alliance, please click here.

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The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news, magazine and digital media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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On October 19, the News/Media Alliance sent a letter together with Digital Content Next and the European Publishers Council to the G7 member states and the European Union regarding the Group’s efforts to develop global AI principles and a voluntary code of conduct under the so-called Hiroshima AI Process. The letter expressed support for the process and encouraged the member states to include strong transparency obligations and copyright protections in the G7 framework. The letter was accompanied by the Global AI Principles signed by the Alliance and over two dozen other content and media organizations in September, covering issues related to intellectual property, transparency, accountability, quality and integrity, fairness, safety, design, and sustainable development. The G7 are expected to finalize the framework in the coming weeks. The European Commission recently published a draft version of the principles, including a reference to copyrights and transparency measures.

The post News/Media Alliance Commends G7’s Hiroshima AI Process, Calls for Strong Copyright Protections appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

“As I boarded an Amtrak train back home from Washington, D.C. last Thursday morning, leaving a city bracing for a potential (ultimately averted) government shutdown amid a debate checkered with misinformation, the capitol’s dysfunction and discord provided an appropriate backdrop to the urgent mission that had brought me there. The News/Media Alliance, an industry advocate, organized last week’s D.C. trip to push for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), a vital bill that needs to pass.” Read more.

The post My Trip to Capitol Hill, and the Desperate Need to Save Newspapers appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

“Peekskill Herald Publisher Regina Clarkin was in Washington, D.C. earlier this week to meet with key Senators and Congressional representatives to advocate for bills and ideas to help save local journalism. Clarkin joined local publisher Adam Stone of Examiner Media along with Emily Sachar and Walter Mullin of The Daily Catch in Red Hook, NY as part of a delegation of some 80 newspaper publishers from across the country. The publishers were invited to Washington by the News Media Alliance, a trade association representing 2,000 newspapers whose members include the largest publishing companies, both newspapers and magazines, in the country.”  Read more.

The post Newspaper Publishers Lobby Congress for Passage of Bill to Protect Local Journalism appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Here is a collection of photos from the day:

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Support Local Journalism Awards Reception photographs by Will Reintzell Photography.

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