Integrating AI into newsrooms is more than just a technological shift; it's a strategic revolution. The challenge lies in balancing long-term investment decisions with the rapid advancements in AI. How do we adapt when the technology we're building a strategy around keeps evolving on a weekly basis? This dynamic landscape presents a unique set of challenges, different from any previous technological shifts the industry has faced.
Product thinking is crucial to tackling this challenge, so I invited Felicitas Carrique, the Executive Director of the News Product Alliance, to help think through what product management looks like in the age of AI.
Feli, recognized by the Future Today Institute's 2023 Tech Trends Report as "One to Watch in the news industry," brings a wealth of experience and insight to this topic. Her work at the News Product Alliance has been pivotal in creating a support network and collaborative environment for news product professionals, aiming for a more sustainable and ethical future in news.
Feli's extensive background includes her tenure as the Innovation Director at Sembra Media, where she played a key role in promoting innovation across news organizations in Latin America, Spain, and the USA. She's also known for co-creating the first news product class in Latin America at Universidad Católica Argentina.
Here are the top takeaways from our conversation:
1️⃣ Key considerations for building a successful AI strategy centered on audience needs and business goals.
2️⃣ Use cases for generative AI to assist product managers, from gathering user insights to creating documentation.
3️⃣ How AI helped the News Product Alliance successfully match 150 mentor-mentee pairings by optimizing compatibility criteria.
Also, here’s a custom GPT I refer to on the episode that I've been playing around with. It can help with brainstorming AI features, all the way to generating UI mock ups with DALL-E 3.
🎧 Listen to the full conversation available now on Apple, Spotify, Google, and other major podcast platforms.
Felicitas Carrique: News Product Management in the Age of AI