The JournalismAI team at Polis/LSE and the Google News Initiative are thrilled to announce that 40 journalists, editors, and newsroom managers from across the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region have been selected to participate in the 2022 JournalismAI Academy for Small Newsrooms.

In line with our mission to make the potential of AI more accessible for news organisations worldwide, the Academy launched in 2021 to support small newsrooms that want to learn how AI can be used to enhance their journalism.

This year’s cohorts include participants from a wide range of media outlets, including investigative newsrooms, local media, fact-checking organisations, and publications focusing on science and environmental coverage. Most of them work in newsrooms with fewer than 50 employees.

From September 2022, selected participants will take part in a series of masterclasses given by experts working at the intersection of journalism and artificial intelligence, as well as hands-on activities to guide their AI-adoption journey during and after the programme.

The JournalismAI Academy for Small Newsrooms is a must for anyone looking to break barriers and to have impact, whatever their professional designation. I came away feeling truly empowered and turbocharged about my ability to make a difference, both in my organisation and in the wider media ecosystem.

Lee Mwiti (Africa Check), 2021 Academy participants

Meet the participants of the 2022 JournalismAI Academy for Small Newsrooms:

The Americas cohort 🌎

Over the last three years, we had the opportunity to learn about the incredible work that some small organisations in the Americas are doing with AI. Organisations like Data Crítica, Revista AzMina, and Eye on Ohio offer exceptional examples of how small newsrooms can punch above their weight and make the most of AI technologies to better serve their audiences.

With the Academy, we hope to inspire our participants in the Americas to follow the steps of these and other pioneering organisations.

Participants of the Americas cohort are based in 10 different countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, the US, and Venezuela. Here’s the full list:

🇨🇺 Abraham Calás is the director of development and innovation at elTOQUE, an independent media outlet in Cuba focusing on topics including human rights and freedom of expression.

🇧🇷 Aglisson Lopes is a performance editor at Brazil’s local news organisation A Gazeta.

🇲🇽 Claudia Villegas is the CEO and editor of Revista Fortuna in México, a small magazine investigating the economy and public politics impacting the Mexican people.

🇵🇾 Daniel Duarte is the chief editor at Paraguay’s Ciencia del Sur, a digital-only publication covering science news in South America.

🇧🇷 Eduardo Nunomura is the special editor at Amazônia Real in Brazil, a non-profit association dedicated to the production of ethical and investigative journalism, and interested in the issues of the largest tropical forest in the world and its people.

🇺🇸 Gregory Foster is the founder of Cannabis Observer, an outlet that creates outstanding information about cannabis policymaking in Washington state.

🇺🇸 Hank Sims is the editor of Lost Coast Communications, a local media company serving Humboldt County, California.

🇦🇷 Ignacio Ferreiro is a data journalist for Argentina’s Chequeado, a non-partisan, non-profit fact-checking website that works to promote access to information and open data.

🇨🇺 Ismario Rodríguez Pérez is the audiovisual director at Periodismo de Barrio, a news outlet that aims to expand and diversify information on the impact of climate change and natural disasters in Cuba.

🇧🇷 Karoline Pinheiro is the product director at Emerge Mag, an independent digital magazine of intersectional art and culture in Brazil.

🇧🇷 Larissa Pontes is the executive director of Eficientes, an independent journalism organisation in Brazil working to provide accessible and quality information to people with disabilities.

🇪🇨 Manuel Novik is a journalist at Revista Plan V, a public interest journalism web portal in Ecuador.

🇨🇴 María Paula Murcia is Mutante’s analysis and community editor in Colombia, where the outlet focuses on investigating stories of public interest.

🇺🇸 Matthew Albasi is the senior data reporter at Stacker, an outlet producing and distributing data journalism via a newswire accessed by thousands of local news organisations in the United States.

🇺🇸 Matthew Kovelan is the president of SportsWriters, a startup in the United States that creates unique forms of sports news stories.

🇺🇸 McKenzie Morgan is the product manager at U.S. news organisation Technically Media, serving a community of technology professionals including entrepreneurs, technologists, and their supporters.

🇻🇪 Patrizia Aymerich is the CEO, founder and chief editor of El Teatro in Venezuela.

🇨🇴 Tania Tapia is an editor at Colombia’s Cerosetenta, a digital and independent media outlet hosted at the Center of Journalistic Studies of the Universidad de los Andes.

🇸🇻 Xenia Oliva is a journalist at Revista GatoEncerrado – a small, independent newsroom in El Salvador focusing on stories regarding human rights access and violations.

The Asia-Pacific cohort 🌏

From Indonesia to Sri Lanka, through China, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, South Korea, India, the Philippines, and New Zealand, the Asia-Pacific cohort also includes participants from 10 different countries.

Their skills and backgrounds are as varied as the countries they come from. Here’s the full list of participants:

🇲🇾 Andrew Ong is a news editor at Malaysiakini, an outlet in Malaysia reaching over 2.5 million readers every month with independent coverage of political and current affairs. 

🇳🇿 Andy Fyers is a data journalist at BusinessDesk NZ, covering New Zealand’s business journalism and political economy. 

🇳🇵 Arpana Ale Magar is a reporter at Nepal’s TechPana, a complete ICT-based news portal.

🇲🇳 Battuvshin Altankhuyag is the managing editor at Lemon Press in Mongolia, covering financial and capital market news.

🇮🇳 Bhrigu Talukdar is a deputy digital editor at Northeast Live, the only TV channel of Northeast India catering to the eight states of the region. 

🇵🇭 Celine Isabelle Samson heads the online verification team at VERA Files, a nonprofit independent media organisation training journalists to employ fact-checking and covering current issues in the Philippines. 

🇮🇩 Dandy Koswaraputra is a special producer at Benar News, an outlet providing news on security, politics, and human rights in Indonesia. 

🇮🇳 Itika Sharma Punit is the South Asia editor of Rest of World, an international nonprofit journalism organisation that focuses on the interaction between technology, culture, and the human experience. 

🇮🇳 Joydeep Dasgupta is an editor at News Sense, a communication initiative spreading positivity through informing, analysing, and promoting accurate news in India. 

🇰🇷 Jiwon Park is a reporter and digital strategy task force member at The Korea Times, a digital newspaper informing South Koreans daily on a variety of important issues. 

🇱🇰 Myrna Ramiah is the deputy editor of Ceylon Today, a news organisation providing innovative coverage of business and political issues in Sri Lanka. 

🇲🇳 Narantungalag Enkhtur is the co-founder of the Nest Center for Journalism Innovation and Development, a non-profit supporting media organisations throughout Mongolia.

🇲🇾 Nor Arlene Tan is the co-founder and producer of Hidden Asia Media in Malaysia, an outlet that uses storytelling to create a greater understanding about Asia. 

🇮🇳 Rahul Dogra heads tech, digital, and new initiatives at the Daily Excelsior, a news organisation in India providing visual, in-depth, investigative reporting. 

🇮🇳 Saketh Ayyagari is the head of growth and marketing for The Bridge, a digital media house in India covering Indian sports content. 

🇮🇳 Shadma Shaikh is a technology journalist and cofounder of FactorDaily, a nonprofit newsroom for public interest stories. 

🇱🇰 Shamindra Kulamannage is the co-founder and editor of Sri Lanka’s Echelon Media, an economic, financial and political news service. 

🇮🇳 Shashank Shekhar is the editor of The420, India’s only bi-lingual (English & Hindi) cybercrime news and awareness platform.

🇮🇳  Subhra Priyadarshini is chief editor at Nature India, a digital magazine highlighting the latest research on India’s science. 

🇮🇳  Sugitha Sarangaraj is head of digital at News7 Tamil, a Tamil Infotainment TV channel. 

🇨🇳 Ting Wu is the editor-in-chief of Sixth Tone, a news organisation covering the nuanced issues and complexities of today’s China.

We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to apply for the JournalismAI Academy for Small Newsrooms. Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on future opportunities with JournalismAI.

Thanks to Polis administrator, Emily Bordow, who wrote the first version of this blog post.

JournalismAI is a global initiative by Polis – supported by the Google News Initiative – that empowers news organisations to use artificial intelligence responsibly.