Changing the News: Artificial Intelligence and Journalism

Changing the News: Artificial Intelligence and Journalism with Tony Silvia

If artificial intelligence, in its many forms, scares you, you’re not alone. Journalists in America and around the globe are grappling with how to use, but not abuse, the power of AI to write, edit, and even create entire news stories for a broad range of audiences. It is entirely possible that you have already read a news story that has been composed with the assistance of AI models. How does one make sense of this new technology within the landscape of journalism and democracy?

Tony Silvia is Professor Emeritus of Journalism and Digital Communication at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. His professional background is in television news, having worked as a consumer reporter and news anchor at various television stations in local markets, including Providence, and as a correspondent for CNN based in Atlanta. He has also covered stories at the U.S. Supreme Court, Congress, and the White House. He has been honored with three Emmy Award nominations, an Associated Press Award for best documentary, and has authored dozens of articles in academic and industry journals, and, to date, published nine books. His latest, Artificial Intelligence and Journalism: Changing the News, was published in March, 2025. A tenth book, Media Justice: the Birth and Legacy of True Crime Media, is due for publication in 2026. He was awarded two “Educator in the Newsroom” fellowships by the Radio-Television News Directors Foundation, in 2008 was named a fellow of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and has taught seminars at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies., the world’s premiere school for professional journalists. Dr. Silvia holds both a master’s and doctoral degree from the University of Birmingham, England.

Thursday, September 25, 2025