Production

creating content from draft to publication

Production is the work of turning a draft into a finished, publishable piece. It covers writing, editing, adding visuals, and shaping the final form. AI can draft text, suggest edits, or generate elements, so the question is how much of the work it touches, how you keep the result accurate, and whose voice the piece carries.

Questions to explore

// use these as prompts in a workshop or on your own. There are no right answers.

How does a story move from first draft to finished piece in your newsroom?
Which production steps slow you down or pull time away from the journalism itself?
Where could AI help with drafting, editing, or producing visual elements?
How would you keep AI-assisted text accurate and in your newsroom's voice?
What would you want labeled or disclosed when AI has shaped part of a published piece?

Expert voices

// notes from the journalists and AI experts who helped shape this kit

“Transcription, dubbing, synthetic voices, generated topics, and draft articles: which of these do you consider acceptable in news production?”

Anastasiia Korinovska, Suspilne

“Use AI to generate outlines, draft background sections, or fix clunky sentences, but your voice, analysis, and narrative craft must drive the final piece. The real risk is AI's generic tone homogenizing your publication's distinctive style.”

Mwende Mukwanyaga, AI Salon

Things to consider

AI-drafted text can read smoothly while getting facts wrong, so edit for accuracy, not just flow.
Decide where AI-generated visuals are acceptable and where they are not.
Be clear, internally and with the audience, about what AI helped produce.

using this card

Pull Production when it is relevant and set it aside when it is not. Pair it with the other Journalism cards, lay them out on a table, and use the questions above to get everyone on the same page. Capture what you discuss on sticky notes or in a shared doc.