--- title: "Gannett Staff Furious Over Contract Allowing AI “to Generate News Content”" description: "Writers at the newspaper giant Gannett quietly updated employment contracts to provide much more leeway for generating \"news content.\"" date: "2024-05-16" modified: "2024-05-16" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/gannett-ai-news-content" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Future Society" tags: - "ai" - "ai-generated content" - "Media" - "the digest" --- # Gannett Staff Furious Over Contract Allowing AI “to Generate News Content” ![Writers at the newspaper giant Gannett quietly updated employment contracts to provide much more leeway for generating "news content."]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Switcheroo Writers at the *Democrat & Chronicle*, a Rochester, New York daily newspaper owned by the American publishing giant Gannett, are outraged after discovering that their owner quietly updated contract language to allow seemingly unlimited use of AI in "news content," [*Digiday* reports](). In early April, *Digiday* reports, *Chronicle* writers received a version of the employment contract that included *very* precise language regarding where and how AI could be used at the newspaper. AI "may be used to generate news content that is supplementary to local news reporting," read the original clause, which the Newspaper Guild of Rochester has since claimed was settled language following contract negotiations, "and is not a replacement for it." But later that month, when *Chronicle* writers received an updated draft, they discovered that this highly specific language had been whittled down to the bone. (Per *Digiday*, *Chronicle* journalists say they received no explicit notice from Gannett of the surprise change.) AI "may be used to generate news content," read the new version. This language, of course, is *far* more generalized, and would seemingly give Gannett the leeway to fully AI-generate entire articles — and not contain AI use to assistive or auxiliary use cases, as the initial contract language would have stipulated. Put simply, it's a massive change to make. And rest assured, the human journalists at the *Chronicle* are not happy. "It was shocking and frustrating and disappointing," Justin Murphy, an education reporter at the *Chronicle* and a Newspaper Guild of Rochester member, told *Digiday*. https://twitter.com/rocnewsguild/status/1786027981665689614 ## Track Record As Gannett is no stranger to AI scandal, the *Chronicle* staff's frustrations aren't exactly surprising. Back in August 2023, it emerged that Gannett was using AI to churn out embarrassingly bad writeups of [regional high school sports scores](), a scandal that ultimately ended in Gannett [pausing the effort]() and issuing [massive corrections](). Then in October, Gannett was accused by writers at *USA Today,* which it also owns, of publishing AI-generated content bylined by fake writers — an accusation further corroborated by an [investigation by ]()*[Futurism]()* into the media contractor that provided that fake author-bylined content. In short, Gannett doesn't have a great track record regarding responsible AI use. And, as AI scandals like those at Gannett have been known to cause [reputational]() [harm]() to publications, it makes sense that the media giant's writers — [to say nothing of readers]() — want a say on how AI is used in their newsrooms. "Even though our unit is small, the kind of terms we get in our contract are extremely important," Murphy told *Digiday*, "not just for other newsrooms across Gannett, but for journalists across America." **More on AI and media:** [*During Huge Demo, Google's AI Provides Idiotic Advice about Photography That Would Destroy Film*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()