The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has partnered with OpenAI to launch a $1.5 million fund aimed at helping newsrooms worldwide harness the power of artificial intelligence. The collaboration seeks to explore and expand the use of AI tools to support quality journalism, improve newsroom efficiency, and foster innovative storytelling.
The initiative is part of OpenAI’s broader commitment to support the news industry amid the growing impact of generative AI on content creation and distribution. Through this partnership, selected news organizations will receive financial assistance, technical expertise, and access to AI models to experiment with solutions tailored to editorial workflows, audience engagement, and newsroom sustainability.
WAN-IFRA will manage the selection process, focusing on projects that demonstrate clear public value, promote journalistic integrity, and address the operational needs of small and medium-sized publishers. Applications are expected to open soon, with emphasis placed on geographic diversity and local news innovation.
This fund comes at a time when many media outlets are grappling with challenges such as declining revenues, audience fragmentation, and the need to adapt rapidly to digital disruption. By equipping newsrooms with AI capabilities, the initiative aims to empower journalists to focus more on investigative work, reduce routine tasks, and experiment with new formats that resonate with digital audiences.
Both WAN-IFRA and OpenAI emphasized that ethical use of AI in journalism will be central to the projects supported, ensuring transparency, editorial independence, and accuracy remain foundational principles.
The fund represents a key step in bridging the gap between advanced AI technologies and the traditional values of journalism, signaling a new phase of collaboration between tech and media sectors.
