All news is local. Isn’t it?
Plus an interview with NYC Media Lab on their AI challenge
Last time we dealt with languages, zooming out to quality articles around the world that you may not have seen by focusing on your usual national sources.
This week we’re travelling in the opposite direction, with a focus on all things local.
Overtone has always cared about local news, its issues and its potential. We are now pleased to have been awarded a position in NYC Media Lab’s AI & Local News Challenge, alongside other participants such as Gannett’s Localizer team and researchers at NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics. The goal is to develop products that can be used by local newsrooms, and we will be working on a version of our quality scores for Spanish language text (check out the job announcement below if you know a young journalist who may be interested).
Our newsletter also includes a blog post with thoughts from NYC Media Lab’s Matt MacVey about how AI and local fit together, as well as articles highlighted by the Overtone model from local sources specifically. We think part of the benefit of looking at quality in local news is in finding the sort of gems that are relevant not just to their original audience, but to people far beyond.
Where do “local” and AI meet?
Matt MacVey of NYC Media Lab on the AI & Local News Challenge
”It’s not that I’m imagining a super shiny robotic newsroom or something like that. I’m more just imagining a lot of good news being put out there.”
Do you know a Spanish speaker who wants to work with Overtone?
After making its model to sort through news in English, Overtone is now beginning to build a model in Spanish. We are recruiting an editor/researcher with native or native-like fluency in Spanish for a project this spring. It is a good position for a young freelance journalist or student interested in media and technology.
Promotion - Looking for news more often?
This edition of our newsletter comes with special support from Refind, which sends out personalised digests on a daily basis
Quality stories that our algorithm suggests:
One dream lost in Afghanistan, another unfolding in the Roanoke Valley - Roanoke Times
‘Like being in hell’: Detainees offer window into Cook County Jail’s Covid-19 surge - Injustice Watch
Same as it ever was: Musician pay for live shows in Austin hasn't changed in 40 years - KUT 90.5
Crucial Evidence Goes Stale As Desk Appearance Tickets Are Issued For More Serious Crimes, Leaving Defendants In Purgatory - New York Focus
West London’s 1960s estate where residents live in mouldy flats set for bulldozer - My London
Grannie was a serial killer: A sad, unspoken true story - Cincinnati Enquirer
How Park City became a hotbed for Olympic slopestyle skiers - Salt Lake Tribune
California Democrat wants to crack down on employers that exploit workers. Will this help? - Fresno Bee
A Midwest family almost lost their home because of a little-known law - Investigate Midwest
Aaron Donald: 'Force of nature' who never lost his humility - Pittsburgh Tribune Review
If you have any thoughts on the newsletter, Overtone, or places where our scores can be used, please get in touch at contact@overtone.ai.