At W42ST, we believe in showing up — being present in our neighborhood, listening, watching and reporting from the ground. That’s what makes local journalism valuable. But we also live in a rapidly changing world, and like many small newsrooms, we’re exploring how AI tools can support (but not replace) the work we do.
We use artificial intelligence as a helpful assistant to speed things up, surface insights and reduce the time we spend on repetitive tasks, so we can spend more time doing what matters: reporting real stories in our community.
Here’s how we use AI at W42ST — and how we don’t:
Editorial Responsibility
AI doesn’t write our stories. People do. Reporters are responsible for the accuracy and originality of their work. Editors are responsible for the selection, tone and final copy. And the publisher (that’s Phil) is ultimately responsible for everything we publish. AI is a tool, not a byline.
Story Discovery and Research
We use AI to help us sift through large volumes of material, like transcripts from multi-hour community board committee meetings, to highlight possible story angles. But any lead that surfaces is then read, verified and interpreted by a human editor or reporter.
Drafting and Editing
Sometimes our editors use generative AI to help draft SEO headlines, summarize stories for social media or test alternate leads. We may ask AI to help restructure paragraphs or suggest story angles. But final decisions — including voice, facts and framing — always rest with the human journalist.
Writers are free to use AI to generate a rough first draft from their on-the-ground reporting. But experienced reporters often prefer to write their own from the start. Either way, AI is an assistant, not the author.
Visual Content
Most of our photos are taken on iPhones or modern digital cameras — and like all current photography tools, these devices use AI. From Smart HDR and Night Mode on phones to Real-Time Recognition Autofocus and intelligent sensors in pro cameras, image processing today relies heavily on machine learning.
But while we use tech to capture the moment, we never allow AI to alter what’s in the frame. Our editorial policy prohibits using generative AI (or any other tool) to add, remove or manipulate anything in our photographs. What you see is what was there.
Accuracy and Quality Checks
We use tools like Grammarly, Otter, Rev and built-in checks from platforms like Google Docs and Newspack (our WordPress provider) to assist with spelling, transcription and proofreading. But journalists are expected to review transcripts, double-check quotes and make the final call on what gets published.
Quotes may be lightly edited for clarity — removing repeated words, filler sounds like “um,” or clarifying clunky phrasing — but never in a way that distorts meaning.
News Monitoring
To stay on top of what’s happening across New York, we track more than 180 newsfeeds. We use Feedly, which includes a tool called Leo that uses AI to filter and prioritize relevant content. Again the AI helps, but a human still decides what’s worth covering.
A Work in Progress
This policy will evolve. We’re testing new tools as they emerge, and we know that AI isn’t perfect — we’ve seen the “hallucinations” and we’re aware of the risks. But for a small team with limited time and resources, the thoughtful use of AI can help us stay focused on the most important part of journalism: being there.
We believe these tools must be used carefully, with humans in charge — not just “in the loop.” And we’re committed to using any time saved by AI to do more original reporting, not less.
On Copyright and Fairness
We firmly object to the use of our work — and that of other creators — to train AI models without permission or payment. We support efforts to ensure that journalism is respected, attributed, and protected in the AI era.
Let us know if you have questions or concerns about how we use AI — or if you’re just curious. We’re learning too.
— The W42ST Team