Latest news with #WAN-IFRA
The Star
24-04-2025
- The Star
Asia-Pacific newsrooms share AI adoption journeys
KUALA LUMPUR: From creating customised reader personas to utilising an artificial intelligence-aided therapist for readers, news organisations from across the Asia-Pacific region have shared their journeys in adopting AI within newsrooms. Organised by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), an AI Showcase: Best Case Studies from the WAN-IFRA AI Catalyst Programme saw three news organisations presenting their prototypes at WAN-IFRA DIgital Media Asia 2025. The Star's senior news editor Razak Ahmad said the news organisation is working to create an AI-enhanced therapist based on 39 years of columns from the newspaper's weekly advice columnist, Dear Thelma. He said The Star has a rich dataset to train an AI that could authentically capture her voice and perspective. AI insights: Razak, Kwok and Tam sharing insights at the 2025 Digital Media Asia Conference by WAN-IFRA at Pullman Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star 'Since April 1986, Thelma has guided readers through relationship troubles, career challenges and life's many other dilemmas. 'An AI-enhanced Thelma means we can respond to more reader submissions, potentially increasing reader engagement, especially among our younger, tech-savvy audience,' he said. A guiding principle for the project would be to ensure that any AI-generated content is clearly labelled and moderated by a qualified person before publication. Senior tech coordinator Kyle Kwok said it was important to continuously fine-tune the AI training model used in the project to ensure that it could accurately reflect Thelma's voice and perspective. 'We will have to continuously feed the most recent Dear Thelma articles to the AI model so that it will be up to date,' he said. Fellow editor Michelle Tam said time and tests would determine if the advice generated by the AI therapist can adequately help The Star's readers to navigate the complex landscape of their personal lives. She emphasised that the AI tools to be integrated with Dear Thelma would have human supervision to maintain the high level of credibility and readers' trust that The Star enjoys. She welcomed readers to share their problems with Dear Thelma by emailing lifestyle@ 'In addition to our wonderful human shoulder to cry on, you might even encounter a trained 'Ther-AI-phist' to lend you a helping hand in future,' she added. Session moderator, journalist and media innovator Fergus Bell said the newsroom AI Catalyst is an 18-month programme to support 128 newsrooms in their AI adoption journey. 'These experiments reveal what works, what doesn't, and what's next for newsrooms serious about AI,' he said, adding that these projects span multilingual, multiplatform, and resource-diverse newsrooms. Taiwan's United Daily News Group data development general manager Anson Mok said its organisation is creating a prototype exploring Gen AI's potential to offer content recommendations based on the readers' persona, which includes their demographics, behaviours and preferences. 'We defined 20 personas and use AI to analyse which type of content fits the personas,' he said. He said this prototype helps enhance audience segments, news value and content quality, as well as understanding and expanding the target audience. Sports editor at the Philippine Daily Inquirer Francis TJ Ochoa presented their prototype called the Newsroom Elves, which aims to improve efficiency in the print newsroom. 'The Editor's Desk Elf converts press releases into stories with headlines and summaries. 'It copyreads articles to check for spelling, grammar and punctuation and edits for clarity and brevity,' he said. He said it would leave the editorials with more time to focus on the narrative of news stories. Read the award-winning stories here:
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CNA
23-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
CNA wins gold for Best Use of Video and Best Podcast at Digital Media Awards Asia 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: CNA bagged two awards, a gold for Best Use of Video and silver for Best Podcast at the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) Digital Media Awards Asia 2025. The awards were presented on Wednesday (Apr 23) at a ceremony at the Digital Media Asia (DMA) conference in Kuala Lumpur. For its 'Build Your Own News Influencer' project, CNA won the gold for Best Use of Video. With the rise of self-styled news influencers as a competitor to news publishers and broadcasters, CNA endeavoured to create its own news influencer to grow its audiences. As part of the project, former TV anchor Chan Eu Imm, who is a veteran journalist with 18 years' experience, reinvented herself as an influencer and creator. Under the CNA Explains banner, she unpacked topics such as the GISB saga in Malaysia, the rise of Mpox, and the arrest of a Singaporean for a US$230 million crypto scam. The more platform-native style of presentation resulted in a nearly 300 per cent rise in views for CNA's explainer videos on YouTube. Watch time for each explainer video on CNA's YouTube channel doubled as well.
The Star
23-04-2025
- The Star
News organisations in Asia Pacific embrace AI innovations
The Star's senior news editor Razak Ahmad at the 2025 Digital Media Asia Conference by WAN-IFRA at Pullman Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star KUALA LUMPUR: From creating customised reader personas to developing an AI-aided therapist for readers, news organisations across the Asia Pacific shared their journeys in adopting AI in newsrooms. Organised by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the AI Showcase: Best Case Studies from the WAN-IFRA AI Catalyst Programme featured three news organisations presenting their prototypes at the WAN-IFRA Digital Media Asia 2025. The Star's senior news editor Razak Ahmad revealed that the news organisation is developing an AI-enhanced therapist based on 39 years of columns from the newspaper's weekly advice columnist, Dear Thelma. He explained that The Star possesses a rich dataset to train an AI that can authentically capture her voice and perspective. "Since April 1986, Thelma has guided readers through relationship troubles, career challenges, and life's many other dilemmas. "An AI-enhanced Thelma means we can respond to more reader submissions, potentially increasing reader engagement, especially among our younger, tech-savvy audience," he said. A guiding principle for the project is ensuring that any AI-generated content is clearly labeled and moderated by a qualified person before publication. Senior Tech Coordinator Kyle Kwok emphasized the importance of continuously fine-tuning the AI training model to ensure it accurately reflects Thelma's voice and perspective. "We will have to continuously feed the most recent Dear Thelma articles to the AI model so that it will be up to date," he said. Fellow editor Michelle Tam noted that time and tests would determine if the advice generated by the AI therapist can adequately help The Star's readers navigate the complexities of their personal lives. She stressed that the AI tools integrated with Dear Thelma would be under human supervision to maintain The Star's high level of credibility and reader trust. She invited readers to share their problems with Dear Thelma by emailing lifestyle@ "In addition to our wonderful human shoulder to cry on, you might even encounter a trained 'Ther-AI-phist' to lend you a helping hand in the future," she said. The session moderator, journalist and media innovator Fergus Bell, stated that the newsroom AI Catalyst is an 18-month programme to support 128 newsrooms in their AI adoption journey. "These experiments reveal what works, what doesn't, and what's next for newsrooms serious about AI," he said, adding that these projects span multilingual, multiplatform, and resource-diverse newsrooms. Taiwan's United Daily News Group data development general manager Anson Mok mentioned that their organisation is creating a prototype exploring Gen AI's potential to offer content recommendations based on readers' personas, including demographics, behaviours, and preferences. "We defined 20 personas and used AI to analyse which type of content fits the personas," he said. This prototype helps enhance audience segmentation, news value, content quality, and understanding and expanding the target audience. Sports editor at the Philippine Daily Inquirer Francis T.J. Ochoa presented their prototype called the Newsroom Elves, which aims to improve efficiency in the print newsroom. "The Editor's Desk Elf converts press releases into stories with headlines and summaries. It copy-reads articles to check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation and edits for clarity and brevity," he said. He added that it would give the editorial team more time to focus on the narrative of news stories.
Hindustan Times
21-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
HT Labs triumphs at WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2025, secures 5 wins for OTTplay and Slurrp
HT Labs has made a powerful mark on the global stage, with its flagship platforms OTTplay and Slurrp clinching 5 awards at the prestigious WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2025. The accolades recognise excellence in digital journalism, innovation, and audience engagement, cementing HT Labs' position as a frontrunner in the region's digital media landscape. The WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards are among the most respected honours in the industry, judged by a panel of distinguished international experts. They spotlight organisations that demonstrate excellence in digital storytelling, technology, and content strategy—pushing the boundaries of what's possible in news and content publishing in South Asia. These awards underscore HT Labs' unwavering focus on intelligent, user-first digital experiences—powered by innovation, data, AI and editorial depth. Avinash Mudaliar, Co-Founder and CEO of HT Labs, said, 'We're truly honoured by this recognition from WAN-IFRA. These wins are a reflection of the relentless creativity, strategic thinking, and innovation that our teams bring to the table every day. At OTTplay and Slurrp, our mission is to continuously evolve the digital experience through personalisation and smart content. This recognition only strengthens our resolve to lead with impact and purpose." OTTplay is India's leading OTT aggregator, revolutionising content discovery through AI-driven personalisation. With OTTplay Premium, users can access curated content from over 40 top OTT platforms, tailored to their unique viewing preferences. Slurrp is a comprehensive recipe and meal-planning platform with over 7 lakh users across India. It offers calorie-counted, diet-specific recipes for all skill levels, alongside culinary trends, food features, and industry insights, helping home chefs plan smarter and cook better.
Jordan Times
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Women media leaders commit to gender equality
AMMAN — On International Women's Day, prominent Jordanian women in media are joining forces with global leaders for gender equality in media leadership. As part of the WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN) initiative, they have committed to tangible actions to close the gender gap in leadership roles, aligning with this year's theme, #AccelerateAction, according to a WAN-IFRA statement shared with The Jordan Times. Launched alongside the 2024 Women in Media Leadership Mapping Report, the initiative seeks to address enduring inequalities by dismantling barriers, fostering inclusive workplaces and driving meaningful change. While progress has been made, women still occupy just 24 per cent of editorial and management leadership positions, a modest increase from 21 per cent in 2022. Signatories of the pledge have committed to integrating mentorship programmes within their organisations, based on best practices, and challenging stereotypes and biases in media representation. The pledge follows a historic summit in Malawi, where women leaders from Africa, the Arab region, and Southeast Asia committed to systemic change in newsrooms. "Fifteen years ago, a network like WIN wouldn't have been possible because there weren't enough women in media leadership," said Executive Director of WAN-IFRA WIN Melanie Walker, adding "Now, we have the collective power to accelerate change." With the active participation of Jordanian women media leaders, the pledge marks a critical step toward achieving equal opportunities, stronger representation, and lasting transformation in the media industry. Page 2
