Speed still matters in news, but the prize is no longer the click

Speed is life in the news business, and that went double during the 2010s, when search engines and social networks were the dominant distribution platforms. Especially around major live events like the Oscars or the Super Bowl, the pressure to publish stories quickly often meant preparing “shell” stories in advance, with potential headlines and background information already included. As I’ve written before, AI has a tough time with breaking news. Because it takes time for facts to be verified and a consensus to emerge about what happened, AI systems—and in particular Google—tend to shy awa...