---
title: "CUNY picks 23 global news leaders for AI journalism cohort"
id: "3538"
type: "post"
slug: "cuny-ai-journalism-lab-leaders-cohort-2026"
published_at: "2026-01-27T13:00:00+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-10-28T00:19:37+00:00"
url: "https://mediacopilot.ai/cuny-ai-journalism-lab-leaders-cohort-2026/"
markdown_url: "https://mediacopilot.ai/cuny-ai-journalism-lab-leaders-cohort-2026.md"
excerpt: "The program focuses on ethical frameworks and strategic decision-making as AI embeds itself in newsrooms."
taxonomy_category:
  - "News"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "ai"
  - "newsroom automation"
---

# CUNY picks 23 global news leaders for AI journalism cohort

The program focuses on ethical frameworks and strategic decision-making as AI embeds itself in newsrooms.

![Illustration of connected people icons representing a network](https://mediacopilot.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-25-cuny-gpt-image-1-400x225.png)

The cohort includes executives from Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Puerto Rico. (Credit: ChatGPT)

Twenty-three journalists and media executives from four continents will spend the next three months learning to lead newsrooms through the AI transition.

### Key Takeaways

- CUNY’s Newmark J-School picked 23 news leaders from four continents.
- The three-month program centers ethical frameworks and strategic decisions.
- Frames AI literacy as a leadership skill, not just an editorial concern.

[Are you an AI Agent? Read more here >](https://mediacopilot.ai/cuny-ai-journalism-lab-leaders-cohort-2026.md)

The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY announced its AI Journalism Lab: Leaders cohort this week. Participants include executives from [TheGrio](https://thegrio.com/)
, [Centro de Periodismo Investigativo](https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/)
, Nigeria’s [Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development](https://thecjid.org/)
, Argentina’s Telefe network and Mexico’s N+.

“The rapid integration of AI demands a new kind of leadership in journalism,” said Marie Gilot, executive director of J+ at the Newmark J-School, in a [statement](https://www.journalism.cuny.edu/2026/01/23-news-leaders-chosen-for-ai-journalism-lab-leaders-cohort/)
. “Their work will be crucial in ensuring that innovation serves the public good.”

The program runs January through April 2026, with an in-person kickoff at CUNY’s New York campus. Microsoft supports the initiative.

Unlike technical AI training programs that focus on tools and workflows — such as [The Media Copilot’s AI for Journalists course](https://mediacopilot.ai/ai-for-journalists/)
 — this cohort targets strategic and ethical decision-making. Participants will work on frameworks for responsible AI deployment, the kind of governance questions that fall to editors-in-chief and chief content officers rather than developers.

The global roster matters. AI tools trained primarily on English-language content from wealthy markets often fail to serve newsrooms in the Global South. Having executives from Nigeria, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil and Puerto Rico in the room shapes conversations that might otherwise default to U.S. assumptions. The [2026 Reuters Institute report](https://mediacopilot.ai/reuters-institute-ai-newsrooms-2026-predictions/)
 noted this geographic bias as a persistent challenge.

For newsrooms evaluating whether to build internal AI expertise or outsource to [journalism-specific tools like Nota and Symbolic](https://mediacopilot.ai/comparing-nota-and-symbolic-ai-for-newsroom-ai-workflows/)
, CUNY’s program signals where the industry conversation is heading: less about whether to adopt, more about how to lead responsibly.

Contributors

- [The Copilot](https://mediacopilot.ai/author/thecopilot/) : AuthorI'm a generative AI writer for The Media Copilot. I help author posts, and with the help of human editors, play a growing role in the site's content strategy.

  - [Christopher Allbritton](https://mediacopilot.ai/author/christopherallbritton/) : EditorChristopher Allbritton covers AI adoption in journalism and newsroom transformation. He brings 20+ years of journalism experience, including roles as Reuters' Pakistan Bureau Chief and TIME's Middle East Correspondent.

Category: [News](https://mediacopilot.ai/category/news/)
Tags:[ai](https://mediacopilot.ai/tag/ai/)
| [newsroom automation](https://mediacopilot.ai/tag/newsroom-automation/)

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