New employees of The Punch Newspaper who participated in the Immersion Programme by the company and Punch Media Foundation, got some deep insights on how to use AI to enhance their editorial assignments.
Director of Projects at Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation, Mayowa Tijani, the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Abuja Politico, Kirk Leigh and Editor, THE PUNCH, Oyetunji Abioye spoke on different aspects of maximising digital technologies, especially AI.
The Punch Foundation shared excerpts from their presentations in Facebook posts.
The Smarter You Search, the Bigger the Story
Still on the modern journalist and emerging tools, the Director of Projects at Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation, Mayowa Tijani, guided participants through a hands-on session, showing how to dig out credible and newsworthy ideas using AI tools and social platforms.
From advanced Twitter searches to customising Google Alerts, journalists learned how to set up a personalised news radar in real time.
AI for News Gathering
• Use Google Trends to identify top stories across beats from health to politics.
• Explore Google Pinpoint to sift through massive document troves in seconds.
• Rely on Google Notebook LLM for organising, summarising, and connecting research.
• Create visuals that communicate clearly using AI-generated infographics.
AI for Social Media Monitoring
• Track real-time conversations using X (formerly Twitter)’s advanced search tools.
• Scan campaigns and content archives through the Meta Content Library.
• Set up Google Alerts to receive updates on people, countries, organisations, and events as they happen. Are you harnessing AI, or just watching others do it?
AI Meets Impact: The Future of Journalism Is Here
The Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Abuja Politico, Kirk Leigh, delivered a powerful session that blended the promise of technology with the purpose of journalism Impact.
In a media space flooded with crisis, noise, and confusion, Impact Journalism stands out, telling stories that drive solutions, outcomes, and community transformation.
What Sets Impact Journalism Apart?
• Solution-oriented: spotlighting what works, not just what’s broken
• Outcome-driven: reporting progress, not just promises
• Community-focused: amplifying real voices, especially from rural and underserved areas
AI: The Journalist’s Smartest Assistant
From story ideation to publishing, AI now supports every stage:
• Writing and editing
• Tracking trends
• Fact-checking
• Enhancing visuals and headlines
Used responsibly, AI does not dilute journalism. It deepens its impact.
Leigh cautioned that AI works at the level of your intelligence. If you are sharp, it sharpens you. If you are lazy, it exposes you.
AI use policy
The Editor, THE PUNCH, Oyetunji Abioye while taking the cohort through the nuances of PUNCH Style Guide addressed the use of AI in journalism.
Ethical use of AI
Use it to refine, not to replace
Align with policy, stay responsible
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