Union delegates at NZME, the publishers of the NZ Herald, have raised concerns after management admitted it should have employed more "journalistic rigour" when using generative AI tools to help write an editorial.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used to help produce a sports editorial, published last month, that the Herald's editor-in-chief later described as needing more "rigour".
First reported by RNZ's Mediawatch, the article included stilted writing, short sentences and many of the hallmarks of text produced by large language models, such as ChatGPT.
It was published online for paying Herald subscribers, in the printed edition of the Weekend Herald and several regional newspaper mastheads, published by NZME.
E tū negotiation specialist Michael Wood said there was a meeting of staff at NZME, where the issue of using AI had been brought up, earlier today.
He urged media companies not to "rush to new technology simply to cut costs".
"Delegates at NZME have raised their concerns around the recent editorial produced by AI and are continuing dialogue with management about the issue," he said.
"Journalism needs to be led by skilled and experienced professionals, and establishing an appropriate role for AI around this requires serious dialogue with media workers, and good process and oversight, not a rush to new technology simply to cut costs."
NZME has proposed cuts and re-structuring to its newsrooms, over the past year, amid industry-wide shake-ups at almost all major news publishers.
Wood said: "Based on the views of E tū delegates and members we will be seeking further dialogue with media companies and in the meantime urge caution in managing this new technology."
He said the union was convening delegates "from across the sector" to discuss the issue.
The Herald's editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness said last week: "Like many media companies, we use AI as a tool in our newsrooms, as indicated in the footer of every article page.
"Any piece of content that uses AI is reviewed, edited and has journalistic oversight. In this particular case, we accept more journalistic rigour would have been beneficial, and we will communicate this to our team."
In a staff email, the editor said he was keen to discuss AI use at a meeting this week.
"I’m keen to hold another of our regular All Hands meetings ... which will include discussion about our use of AI now and into the future. As always, trust and credibility are vitally important to us and will be part of the discussion."
An NZME spokesperson told 1News that the discussion would take place in a regular newsroom team meeting, adding there would not be an external update on the matter.
NZME did not respond to a further request for comment today.
SHARE ME