One participant in Poynter’s new AI leadership program built newsroom tools on infrastructure they personally pay for. Faculty member Alex Mahadevan called the arrangement “wild” in a Q&A about the program’s first workshop.
The example came from Poynter’s Leading AI in the Newsroom program, which gathered 33 journalists from across the U.S. at the ASU California Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 26 and 27. The program focuses on journalists in small and medium-sized newsrooms who have taken on responsibility for artificial intelligence projects.
Poynter faculty members Mahadevan, Sitara Nieves, Tony Elkins and Kelly McBride were present for the workshop. The source specifically says Mahadevan led a session and Elkins led most of the week.
Participants described a wide range of AI uses already underway in their organizations. Mahadevan said the examples covered “almost everything,” from story summaries and headline assistance to more specialized newsroom tools.
Some participants had built systems that monitor government meetings or scrape documents for investigative teams. Others were working on tools designed to flag possible errors before publication.
But Mahadevan said the biggest challenge was less technical.
“The biggest challenge is driving change and juggling stakeholder expectations,” he said. Participants described pressure to introduce AI while also navigating resistance and uncertainty among colleagues.
Some also said they felt isolated in the role.
Mahadevan argued that people leading this work need more institutional support. Asked whether the positions should receive formal recognition, he said a budget and involvement in strategic discussions may matter more than a new title.
Without that support, he warned, “these rising leaders will burn out.”
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His practical advice centered on measuring AI projects rather than mandating their use. Mahadevan led a session around the principle “Benchmark, don’t mandate,” focusing on metrics newsrooms can use when deciding whether to launch, continue or stop an AI product.
Elkins, who led most of the week, also discussed the difference between working on the “dance floor” and viewing an organization from the “balcony.” Mahadevan said participants should treat time spent thinking strategically as legitimate work rather than something squeezed around daily responsibilities.
One practical suggestion was to reserve time on the calendar specifically for that higher-level thinking.
The cohort will continue meeting virtually. Future sessions will cover audience expectations, AI disclosures, leadership and project management.
Participants are also developing individual projects, including AI tools and newsroom policy updates.
The program has not yet produced results that show which approaches work best. Instead, Poynter’s account offers an early look at the challenges participants brought into the cohort and the support faculty members recommended.
Those recommendations include giving AI leaders access to budgets and strategic discussions, protecting time for planning and setting measurable standards for projects. Mahadevan presented those steps as ways to help newsroom leaders make more deliberate decisions about AI adoption.
The next evidence will come from the participants’ own projects. Their work could provide examples of how smaller and medium-sized newsrooms put those ideas into practice.
