WITH THE introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into the newsroom, veteran documentarist Kara David encouraged campus journalists to enhance their storytelling skills during the second day of the 25th Inkblots, the annual UST national campus journalism fellowship, on Jan. 12.
David stressed the role of storytelling in journalism, saying that the ability to recognize a good story is irreplaceable.
“Ang media ay hindi pagalingan ng tech, hindi pagandahan ng aesthetics or paramihan ng mga drone shots. It’s about a story,” she said. “If you have a bad story, no matter how great your aesthetics are, it’s still a bad story.”
“Aim for stories that are life-changing. Aim for stories that are timeless,” she added.
Dominic Ligot, a software developer and AI expert, said journalists need to be well-informed about AI to anticipate its adverse impacts and leverage its potential for their benefit.
“The more awareness we can generate about generative AI, the more we can guard against its negative effects [and] also use it for positive outcomes.”
Rappler senior reporter Paterno Esmaquel II said the human touch cannot be replicated by AI when covering stories.
In his lecture on religion reporting, Esmaquel reminded journalists to “look deeper” and “pierce the veil” when covering a beat.
“AI can help us in news gathering, but nothing can really substitute for showing up,” he said.
“We have to be open to evolution, but of course, don’t forget your mission of telling the story to the people.”
UST alumna and award-winning photojournalist Lisa Marie David warned against online manipulation in the photo editing process.
David said AI cannot fully replace human journalists, especially in the field of photojournalism.
“Photojournalism remains relevant as long as we keep on producing relevant work,” she said. “In journalism, it’s a misconception that we only click the shutter button. Having that kind of mindset can dumb us down. We are humans, we constantly grow and that’s something AI cannot do.”
The 25th installment of Inkblots, the Varsitarian’s annual campus journalism fellowship, carried the theme “Innovating Campus Journalism in the Age of AI.”
