The Banner to join Lenfest Institute AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program
The Baltimore Banner is excited to announce its participation in the Lenfest Institute AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program, alongside four other esteemed organizations. The program, initially created to assist news enterprises in utilizing artificial intelligence for business sustainability and innovation, has garnered significant interest and support.
New Collaborative Members
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, in partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft, revealed the inclusion of The Banner, ProPublica, Boston Globe Media, The Dallas Morning News, and Arizona State University’s NEWSWELL in the AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program. These organizations will embark on AI experiments funded by the program to enhance audience engagement, increase subscriptions and membership revenue, manage public-sourced story tips, personalize content, and optimize audience data for various stakeholders.
Bob Cohn, Chief Executive Officer of The Banner, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn from innovative news organizations and further understand and serve their audiences through the hiring of an AI fellow. This strategic move aims to elevate engagement and subscriber retention for The Banner.
AI Implementation Goals
The Baltimore Banner is keen on leveraging AI to classify content effectively, analyze audience feedback, improve donor outreach, and support sustainable expansion into new markets. By developing a replicable model for revenue-aligned audience and donor insights within local news, The Banner aims to deepen engagement and foster growth.
The AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program, which commenced in October 2024, received substantial support from OpenAI and Microsoft. The partners allocated a total of $10 million towards the program, providing direct funding as well as software and enterprise credits to aid in the implementation of AI initiatives.
Industry Impact
The AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program includes prominent news organizations such as Chicago Public Media, Newsday, The Minnesota Star Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Seattle Times, in addition to the new members. These organizations collaborate to share insights, product developments, and technical information, with the goal of advancing the use of AI in local news and building sustainable business models.
Lenfest Institute's Executive Director & CEO, Jim Friedlich, expressed pride in the collaboration with OpenAI and Microsoft, emphasizing the collective effort to explore ethical AI applications that benefit the local news industry. The program aims to foster knowledge sharing and innovation within the news ecosystem for long-term sustainability.
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