The Google News Initiative is partnering with Bastion Digital to develop and lead a Gen AI The Google News Initiative is partnering with Bastion Digital to develop and lead “GNI AI Workshops” program for small and medium newsrooms across Australia. The program will support publishers, editors and business leaders at up to 12 news organisations to experiment with and learn about generative AI using a structured framework, with guidance from AI experts, senior journalists and industry mentors.
Over 16 weeks between October and February, these publishers will run content, product and revenue experiments using Google’s tools, including Gemini, Pinpoint, and AI Studio. Participants will collaborate with Bastion to design, run and implement their experiments, utilising its Experimental Framework, a five-step methodology including planning, measurement and governance to provide structure and results.
The program will:
- Inspire news organisations to create impactful editorial and business experiments through training sessions focused on examples of Google’s generative AI products, expert advice from Google’s product team, and industry-leading speakers.
- Design and execute experiments using AI tools, with news organisations supported by industry expert mentors and Bastion’s team.
- Showcase impact by tracking results with news organisations, documenting experiments in case studies and creating editorial and safety principles.
The program is open to newsrooms that:
- Are based in and currently serving audiences in Australia
- Produce and create news stories as an organisation of between 2 and 60 employees
- Can commit to the 16-week program of work, with a core team of 2-3 people to contribute across the duration of the program.
The program will be overseen by experienced industry advisors including Lisa Muxworthy, the former editor-in-chief of news.com.au, and AI expert Dr Jason Jingshi Li, the founder of technology consultancy Learning Machines, who served two terms on the ABC Advisory Council and led delivery of AI and Natural Language Processing projects at IBM in Australia and APAC.
From August 21, 2024 applications will open to interested publishers across Australia. Applications close September 10, 2024. Please direct any questions or enquiries to jennir@bastionagency.com or umapatel@google.com
The application form can be accessed here:
Bastion Digital is uniquely placed to develop and launch the “GNI AI Workshops” program due to its team’s deep news industry expertise, a passion for sustaining journalism and hands-on generative AI expertise.
The program is led by Bastion Digital’s Director Jenni Ryall, a former journalist, editor and media executive and more recently, strategic news partnerships at Meta, alongside Principal Consultant Shaun Davies, who after a career in journalism with Nine, BBC and Newshub, most recently worked as a Director of Product Management at Microsoft, focused on AI applications for news content.
The Bastion team has worked on strategic projects and transformational change with news media companies across ANZ, including Warner Bros. Newshub, Nine Entertainment, The Guardian, Private Media, Missing Perspectives and the ABC. The team is also focused on supporting the sustainability of the industry through scaled programs and strategic support, including its recent Revenue Growth Pilot Program in partnership with the Local and Independent News Association.
Previously, Bastion collaborated with Google News Initiative to develop an Experimental Framework to support a series of innovative growth experiments with newsrooms including BusinessDesk, National Indigenous Times and Nine Publishing. During the “GNI AI Workshops”program, Bastion will use the Experimental Framework with a parallel safety process so experiments proceed with editorial integrity and responsible AI in mind.
Bastion believes in supporting the sustainability of the news ecosystem through innovative programs and transformation projects – and aligns with partners to elevate this work.
