Journalism ATM-style

[katty]

cont'd:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/2006/08/21/journalism-hold-the-jour_e_27708.html

Journalism, Hold The Journalists: Thomson Financial Replaces Reporters With Computers
Financial Times | Aline van Duyn | Posted Monday August 21, 2006 at 02:23 PM

Business information service Thomson Financial has found a way to eliminate that cumbersome middleman from reporting: The reporter. Turns out it's been using computers to create stories since March and plans to roll out the expanded, people-free version soon. According to the FT, the replacement computers "work so fast that an earnings story can be released within 0.3 seconds of the company making results public... By using previous results in Thomson’s database, the computer stories say whether a company has done better or worse than expected."

Said Thomson senior vice-president of strategy Matthew Burkley: "This means we can free up reporters so they have more time to think.” (The awkward, unspoken elephant in the room here: thinking takes more than 0.3 seconds). This is the best part though: apparently the stories were pretty standardized so Burkley said that "We might try and write a few more adjectives into the program."

[Jim__]

1. Oh yeah! A few more adjectives.

There's the secret.

[katty]

2. yup, that's the ticket!!

[Tace]

3. Earnings Stories Are "Fill In The Blank" Stories

There are all kinds of stories produced by a financial newsroom that are simply "fill in the blank" stories. The reporter will literally call up a template and insert figures and words like "up" and "down."

This really is like complaining that cotton is picked, or holes dug, by a machine. I know people need jobs, but I don't see the dignity of doing a job that can be done just as well by a machine. The Thomson spokesman is right that this will free up reporters to do actual reporting.