Marketplace All-in-One An Ohio newspaper gives AI a byline
Mar 11, 2026
Will Oremus, technology reporter at The Washington Post who covers AI and media. He explains how a Cleveland paper uses AI to transcribe meetings, scrape public records, and turn reporter notes into machine-written articles. He discusses newsroom pushback, whether AI is better than no coverage, and how AI might reshape reporting and newsroom roles.
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Newspaper Uses AI For Reporting Workflows
- The Plain Dealer uses AI across tasks from transcribing meetings to scraping municipal sites for story leads.
- The paper built an "AI rewrite desk" where reporters file notes and an AI drafts articles, freeing reporters for fieldwork.
AI Byline Produces Prolific Press Release Style Stories
- Will Oremus reviewed many Advanced Local Express desk stories and found them prolific but generally basic, like press-release rewrites.
- Examples include pieces on the Cleveland Browns coach and a local port authority that read as routine summaries.
AI Framed As Revival Of Old Rewrite Desk
- Editor Chris Quinn frames AI as a modern version of the old rewrite desk, aiming to get reporters back into the field.
- Quinn believes AI can save time for reporting tasks so humans focus on sourcing and interviewing.