Latest news with #LisaHughes
Axios
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Philadelphia Inquirer prints summer reading list full of AI-generated fake titles
The Philadelphia Inquirer last week published a "summer reading list for 2025" that included multiple nonexistent titles by real authors, and was partially produced by AI. The big picture: The list, which ran in a print supplement, also appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, causing a stir on social media as journalists worry about AI-generated material replacing human-made content. The Inquirer confirmed to Axios that the supplement contained material generated by AI, which the newspaper's publisher and CEO, Lisa Hughes, says is "a violation of our own internal policies and a serious breach." Hughes says the newsroom was not involved in producing the supplement. Between the lines: Today's AI models continue to make up things in ways that AI makers still haven't figured out how to detect or stop, and human users keep failing to check their output. Case in point: The first item on the list is a novel by the "beloved Chilean American author" Isabel Allende titled "Tidewater Dreams." Allende is real, but "Tidewater Dreams" — ostensibly a "climate fiction novel" that "explores how one family confronts rising seas levels while uncovering long-buried secrets" — doesn't exist. You have to read down the list of 15 titles to the 11th entry before you hit a real book (Françoise Sagan's 1954 novel, "Bonjour Tristesse"). Zoom in: The article was part of Heat Index, a 56-page summer guide supplement published May 15. It appeared before an ad for the Inquirer that exhorts readers to "Unsubscribe from 'traffic, parking, boardwalk cuisine… yay!' Subscribe to keeping everything beachy." It was also posted on the paper's online edition and has since been removed. King Features designed and produced the material in the supplement, and the Inquirer has been receiving syndicated materials from King for decades, Hughes tells Axios. How it happened: Chicago-based freelance writer Marco Buscaglia has since admitted to 404 Media to using AI to write the piece without fact-checking it.
Axios
21-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Scoop: Inquirer lays off staff, ends Communities and Engagement Desk
The Philadelphia Inquirer is eliminating a news desk focused on covering the city's marginalized communities in its latest round of layoffs, a reporter and a union official tell Axios. The big picture: The union says the newspaper's decision to nix the Communities and Engagement Desk reflects a rollback of its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Driving the news: Inquirer publisher and CEO Lisa Hughes told staff in a Friday email obtained by Axios that the company in January identified 10 jobs to be eliminated, including eight in the newsroom. The newspaper worked with its union, the NewsGuild, to offer buyout packages, Hughes wrote, and parted ways with "separation packages" more generous than what the contract calls for. Hughes said the publication, owned by the nonprofit Lenfest Institute for Journalism, is in "a constant race to drive our digital business as legacy print and advertising revenue continues its industry-wide decline." "This dynamic requires us to invest in critical areas of growth, which we have successfully done and will continue to do. Conversely, it also requires us to assess all aspects of our business and to find savings in select areas." Hughes' email didn't address the Communities and Engagement Desk. The Inquirer didn't immediately return Axios' request for comment. Context: The communities desk covered stories to address the "longtime neglect and misrepresentation of marginalized communities," per its mission statement. It was among a slate of DEI initiatives the Inquirer created in 2020 following an outcry over a headline that the paper subsequently called "racist." The newspaper apologized for the "unacceptable" misstep and pledged to ramp up its efforts to improve coverage of underserved communities. Zoom in: Half of the eight newsroom staff offered buyouts are people of color, Diane Mastrull — an Inquirer breaking news editor and president of the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia — wrote in a memo earlier this week to members, expressing a "loss of confidence" in newspaper leadership. Mastrull said the affected employees were told there was a "nearly 100% guarantee" they'd be laid off if they didn't accept the deals. Inquirer staff writer Amy S. Rosenberg put pressure on leaders to explain the decision in a post on X : "Explain why Lenfest-owned Philly Inquirer just eliminated its entire communities desk and sought the departures of five journalists of color." The cuts come after the Inquirer laid off several staff members last May, a week after the paper asked workers to return to the office to boost "collaboration," per the union.
CBS News
31-01-2025
- Business
- CBS News
MBLA President Avana Epperson-Temple honored with Pinnacle Award for leadership
By Lisa Hughes January 30, 2025 / 9:23 PM EST / CBS Boston BOSTON - Avana Epperson-Temple says one of the best investments you can make is the investment in yourself. Prioritizing personal growth pays dividends far into the future. As a lawyer, President of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, and a fitness instructor, her time is valuable and in high demand. "What you focus on is what you become," she explains. "Being intentional with your time, how you choose to spend your time and what you choose to focus on, I think, is really critical." Avana will receive the Emerging Executive Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on Friday, January 31. The recognition offers a moment of reflection. Avana says that she would tell her younger self that you don't have to accomplish everything all at once. "You don't have to have all the accolades, all the trial wins within the first five years of your career. A career is long. You should enjoy it." What makes her work with MBLA so gratifying is the group's positive impact on individuals and the community. She is delighted to meet with students who earn scholarships through MBLA and are then able to take on internships they, otherwise, could not afford. Avana is also energized considering the ways in which a law degree can be advantageous for someone who doesn't necessarily want to work in a law firm. She says it's time to think beyond the typical benchmarks of what we consider successful in a law career. Opening up opportunities Her thoughtfulness is an asset to MBLA members and scholars. "We are trying to open up opportunities. Job opportunities," she said. "We are bringing in speakers to speak with our members about how they can leverage their degree, leverage their network, leverage their skill set." She is also proud of MBLA's Judicial Academy Program which is working to help diversify the bench so that the judiciary reflects the Commonwealth's diversity. Avana says the key to finding growth opportunities is taking calculated risks. They might include putting yourself in spaces where you can think creatively, allowing yourself to be vulnerable and to ask for what you want, and seizing opportunities that stretch you. "That build you," she said. "That help you build resilience and help you think like a leader." The leader who inspires her most is her father. She says that he taught her to dream and manage her mind. He taught her the importance of her words and manifestation. Avana's father served in both the U.S. Army and the Air Force. "He is the definition of what it means to work hard." And the life lessons he taught by example-how to love, how to give, and how to pursue a goal, shape her values. "He taught me how to stick to a vision which is really, really inspiring. And I'm grateful for that." Lisa Hughes Award-winning journalist Lisa Hughes anchors WBZ-TV News weekdays at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. with co-anchor David Wade.
