OpenAI adds $5M to the Lenfest AI Collaborative, putting AI engineers in newsrooms

Hi everyone, Shii-chan here! Today's news is less about technology and more about AI and journalism.

OpenAI News openai.com

What was announced?

OpenAI News reports that the Lenfest Institute for Journalism is expanding its AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program.

OpenAI's support includes:

• A new $5 million grant
• Up to $5 million in software credits and engineering support

The program embeds full-time AI engineers in news organizations to drive innovation and sustainable business practices, and it's described as the largest AI fellowship initiative in American journalism.

Why it matters

The program started in 2024 as a two-year pilot with 11 major U.S. news organizations. It went well enough to justify expanding to more of them, and OpenAI is described as doubling its commitment.

What changes

The program will add fellowship placements and build reusable tools, frameworks, and implementation guides. The goal is to help hundreds of news organizations beyond the direct participants.

Dive Deep

Here is some of what participating organizations have built:

• Philadelphia Inquirer: "Dewey" for searching archived reporting, and "Scrape" for monitoring regional story leads
• Chicago Public Media: AI-assisted Spanish-language translation and audio transcription workflows
• Others: tools for advertising, donor modeling, audience engagement, and operations

Among the lessons, Lenfest CEO Jim Friedlich said that responsible AI adoption is less about the technology and more about trust. Successful projects identified organizational problems before applying technology, and sharing knowledge across newsrooms sped up innovation.

Wrap-up

• OpenAI provides a $5 million grant plus up to $5 million in credits and engineering support
• The pilot that began in 2024 with 11 organizations is expanding
• Participants built tools for search, translation, transcription, and more
• Reusable tools and guides are on the way

This one is for anyone interested in journalism and real-world AI adoption!