Cronkite School receives grant for AI initiatives from the Scripps Howard Foundation

The Scripps Howard Foundation has awarded $2 million to the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University and the University of Maryland to empower journalists with artificial intelligence tools.

The $1 million to ASU grant will allow the Cronkite School to launch AI initiatives, explore the role and implications of AI in journalism, and support how the industry adapts to emerging technologies.

"Artificial intelligence is dramatically impacting journalism," said Battinto L. Batts Jr, dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU. "We must take a strategic approach to understanding and leveraging AI in the process of charting that future. The Cronkite School plans to be an ongoing and relevant player in that endeavor and appreciates the confidence the Scripps Howard Foundation has shown in our team."

The University of Maryland will use its grant to develop a series of AI products that use artificial intelligence to help local news organizations assess and improve coverage, a tool box that will streamline reporting efficiencies and improve online visibility for local news.

The Scripps Howard Foundation established the Howard Centers in 2018 to honor the legacy of Roy W. Howard, former chairman of the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain and a pioneering news reporter whose relentless pursuit of the news took him around the world, spurred innovation and helped lay the groundwork for modern journalism. The Howard Centers train the next generation of investigative reporters by producing national caliber investigative projects in partnership with faculty and news organizations across the U.S.

The Howard Center at the ASU's Cronkite School will design a professional certificate in investigative journalism with a focus on AI, hold annual workshops for AI experts, and will hire a research professor and graduate students to support the program.