By Elvira Jordan
Journalists have been encouraged to adopt Artificial Intelligence tools to improve the ease, accuracy, and speed of news production amid rapid technological changes in the media industry.
The call was made during a 2-day training organized by the Press Office, Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Consulate General Lagos. The program,with the theme: “AI for Journalists: U.S. Technologies Transforming News Production”, was held on Monday, August 24 and Thursday, August 27, 2026 at the American Corner of Donald E. U. Ekong Library University of Port Harcourt Port Harcourt.
Speaking at the Monday session, Chris Coates, Senior Director of Local News at Lee Enterprises, delivered a lecture titled “AI and Journalism: Tools, Trust and the Human Advantage.”
He highlighted ChatGPT and other AI platforms as tools that can help journalists expand both the scope and depth of reporting and editing, while stressing that human judgment and editorial oversight remain critical.
Also speaking on Thursday, Kenneth Kiunga, Google News Initiative Trainer for Sub-Saharan Africa, took participants through practical AI applications for newsrooms. He demonstrated how tools such as Google Trends, Gemini, and NotebookLM can be used for research, data analysis, story ideation, and content verification.
Kiunga, however, advised journalists to align their use of AI with the house rules and ethical standards of their respective media organizations.
“AI is an assistant, not a replacement,” he noted. “The goal is to use it responsibly to make journalism faster and more accurate, without compromising trust.”
Participants described the training as timely, saying it equipped them with skills to navigate the evolving digital news landscape while maintaining credibility.
The program was held simultaneously across several states in Nigeria, including Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja, Zaria, Uyo and others.
The U.S. Consulate said the program is part of its ongoing efforts to support journalists in Nigeria with training on emerging technologies shaping global media.
