Newsrooms and Technology


Within the last 3 years, our online interactions have experienced a big shift. The rise of machine learning and personal assistants have changed the expectations for online access to information and news. Users now expect that their online experience will be fully personalized. They want to know trends and news that are important to them and expect that what they consume online will be relevant directly to their daily lives. Anything outside of their interest zone is irrelevant and a waste of their time.


This main shift has introduced newsrooms to a reevaluation stage, where the usage of digital solutions and technology is the focus. In recent research, 72% of newsrooms now post all their stories in social media. Not only that, 83% of newsroom journalists check social media for any breaking news locally and globally and 45% use social media for conducting source interviews. Journalists now have to consider knowing and utilizing a variety of tech skills and technology within their workflow.


Artificial Intelligence


When it comes to the daily workflow in newsrooms, digital teams have a completely different processes than their broadcasting counterpart. This uncovers a communication and collaboration breakdown as the technology used for creating content for each is still diverse and unconnected. While the line between consuming news online or from television is more blurred than before.


Not only that, but many journalists are now freelancers that work with more than one news organization for different sections. Most newsrooms will also have many remote journalists that create hyper-competitive content in real-time. For the workflow to be efficient, a dynamic editorial approach need to be employed. The main purpose is to accelerate the content process of sorting and researching the news data; eliminating repetitive tasks that most journalists have no time to do anymore. By providing quick fact-checking opportunities, artificial intelligence saves time when eliminating any fake news, by analyzing word patterns. The focus is to discover angles and insights to publish timely newsworthy stories. This not only helps to scale the reach of the content, but also to boost engagement by enhancing the article content.


In this real-time industry, artificial intelligence can also offer more personalized content and improve content recommendations for readers. This is mainly accomplished by looking at reading preferences, time spent on an article, and location of the individual.


Integrated Team Messaging Apps


To publish local, national and even international news, many newsrooms will have remote work environments. This is true for many industries as well. Hopping over to someone’s desk to ask a question or run something by them is no longer the same time zone. This has also lead newsrooms to consider specific apps and solutions around a reliable communication system.


Adopting integrated messaging tools that can link to documents for editing and allow commands to automate the publishing process have been key in a more synchronized work environment. Rather then sifting through emails and looking for attachments, communication solutions can offer a centralized space where edits, recommendations and angles to consider between remote teams. Teams working on different stories can quickly collaborate by creating story chats and jump from one to the other as tasks get completed.


Robots and Automated Journalism



The growing usage of artificial intelligence has lead to a new wave in journalism within the last year – “robot generated stories” or automated journalism. These “robots” utilize preprogrammed article templates and process data to generate content copy and apply it to the template with more details. In basic terms, it is allowing a bot write your content for you.

Associated Press, as well as Washington Post has been experimenting in this area. There has been quite a buzz and the results seems to prove that generating articles through automated journalism can help keep on top of fast paced news developments – such as sports and finance. The Washington Post kept on top of the game statistics and updates for the Rio Olympics by analyzing the data and generating relevant phrases in their preconfigured story templates, equipped with their editorial standards and rules. Associated Press was also generate narratives for their website from the data provided through financial reports for quarterly recaps with a 12-fold increase.



Artificial Intelligence, Messaging Apps and Automated journalism systems basically assist journalists to pursue less mechanical stories and speed up their workflow to produce more real time content. To implement this system to more complex article topics could mean that there is less depth and complexity, while also not taking into consideration bias. Although there is a case to be made for these technology tools to be implemented in every newsroom, there are still many limitations and we will have to wait and see what new developments will surface.



AdPerfect Adds The Seattle Times to Its Growing Customer List

October 19, 2020
AdPerfect, one of the leading obituary platforms used by media companies across North America, will provide its technology and expertise to The Seattle Times, the most read local news and information company in the Pacific Northwest. The AdPerfect Obituary platform provides readers and customers with an exceptional experience for sharing the life and memories of a loved one who has passed. The platform provides a modern user interface and an efficient self-serve option for funeral homes and private parties to place obituary notices. “We’ve worked closely with AdPerfect for a number of years on other products and their customer service, attention to detail and willingness to be a true partner is second to none”, said Gary Smith, VP of Advertising – The Seattle Times AdPerfect was acquired by Tribute Technology last August, a company that provides funeral management and website software to 70% of the funeral home businesses in the U.S.A and Canada. Today, with a direct connection between AdPerfect’s obituary software solution and local funeral home’s software, this never-before-seen opportunity is quickly being adopted by hundreds of local media outlets. “We’re ecstatic to have The Seattle Times take advantage of our obituary platform, as the devotion and admiration they enjoy from informed readers throughout the Pacific Northwest demonstrates how committed they are to their customers. Being able to provide The Seattle Times and funeral homes in the Seattle area with a fully integrated platform will mean better service for families” said Jim McIntosh, Executive Chairman of AdPerfect. About AdPerfect AdPerfect is the most trusted provider of mobile-friendly self-service advertising solutions for publishers and newspapers. We build reliable online platforms and engaging interfaces focused on attracting advertisers, driving user traffic and growing print and digital revenue. For more than a decade, we have always been, and continue to be, committed to designing technologies that support the evolving needs of the media publishing industry. For more information, contact Jim McIntosh, Executive Chairman, AdPerfect at jim.mcintosh@adperfect.com or phone 604.760.9039.   About The Seattle Times The Seattle Times serves the Northwest with independent, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, as the region’s most trusted news media company, dedicated to public service. The Seattle Times is the second largest newspaper on the West Coast and the most-visited digital information source in the state. Founded in 1896 by Alden J. Blethen, The Seattle Times is now led by the Blethen family’s fourth and fifth generations. It also owns the Yakima Herald-Republic and The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin About Tribute Technology Tribute Technology is the leading technology provider for the funeral and death care industry. Tribute Technology provides website design and development; online obituary applications; case management software; extensive funeral payment technology including credit card processing, ACH payments, crowdfunding, financing, and life insurance assignments; floral eCommerce solutions; digital marketing services; and personalization software for keepsakes, funeral stationery, and video. Tribute Technology's goal is to be the turnkey funeral technology solution for funeral homes and publishers across North America.

AdPerfect Discusses the Company's Obituary Platform & Freemium Model on Guaranteed Digital: The Podcast

September 8, 2020
In partnership with the Local Media Association’s Digital Summit, Daryl Hively of Guarantee Digital conducted podcasts with each of the Association’s many Research and Development partners prior to the start of the conference. In this episode, Daryl sat down with Matthew Ipsan, to learn more about the AdPerfect freemium model, how the company is focused on helping the industry find new and sustainable business models and how the acquisition of AdPerfect by Tribute Technology is a game changer for local media companies.

AdPerfect Participates in Local Media Association Panel Discussion: Look Globally, Deploy Locally

September 4, 2020
Kirsten and Matthew were joined by guests Ashley Montroy, Executive Vice President of Tribute Technology and Nancy Davis from the Arbor Day Foundation. Both companies have seen tremendous revenue results by harnessing the power of data to make the customer journey both enjoyable and efficient.

AdPerfect Introduces Keynote Speaker at 2020 Local Media Association's Digital Summit

September 4, 2020
With nearly 600 people in attendance, virtually, Matthew Ipsan of AdPerfect explained how the AdPerfect freemium model is a perfect example of a new business structure - one designed to provide local media companies with two essential elements for sustainability - significant expense reduction and new incremental revenue through e-commerce.

Tribute Technology Acquires AdPerfect

By jgreen • February 15, 2020
Tribute Technology, the leading provider of funeral management and website services, with cutting-edge personalization and technology solutions used by more than 70% of funeral homes in the United States, has acquired AdPerfect, one of the leading obituary platforms used by media companies across North America. The acquisition will deliver online and self-serve obituaries at no cost to local publishers, while also providing publishers of all sizes and platforms with significant revenue-driving products, such as the Tribute Store.

Online Conversions in 2019

By jgreen • July 22, 2019
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The New Social Paradigm – Distribute Information or Provide Value?

By Pelin Arin • June 20, 2019
Communicating with customers and prospects are spanning to wider applications. Just calling a phone number is no longer enough. As customers are more aware of their options, they want more robust and agile services and the content of your message needs to be multifaceted and provide value. In comes social selling, using […]

Artificial Intelligence Marketing

By Pelin Arin • June 12, 2019
With Google and Amazon investing more and more in artificial intelligence, there is still a lot of expectations and hype around the upcoming developments in technology. Although no one for sure can confidently forecast or speculate where the industry stands on this, we looks at some interesting numbers and stats.

Ethical Advertising in the Intelligent Era

By Pelin Arin • June 10, 2019
Online interactions are not only redefining how we receive and gather information, but also our definitions of ethics online are also being redefined. Majority of consumers now believe that using data to personalize ads is unethical. According to research, 59% believe that personalization to create tailored newsfeeds — precisely what Facebook, Twitter, […]

Online Classifieds in 2019

By Pelin Arin • June 5, 2019
According to recent research from the Online Classifieds Industry Report, 56.9% of companies are confirming that they plan to launch new products or services, while 58.6% planning to hire new staff in the next year and even, 38% plan to modify their business model in the next 3-5 years. This shows an optimistic and […]
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