Australia’s Local & Independent News Association has launched its on-demand sub-editing service for members, stressing the importance of the function in an AI-driven digital landscape.

“While many newsrooms are now using AI tools to gather news content, the role of human journalists and editors in verifying and proofing news articles is more important than ever,” executive director Claire Stuchbery said.

LINA’s team of sub-editors can provide fact-checking, grammar and spelling checks in line with individual publications’ style guides. Newsrooms pay on a per-article basis, with a subsidised rate for member publishers.

Stuchbery says training in AI platforms and “other technology that can be fantastic tools to support the work of journalists and publishers” was a big focus of the group’s recent annual summit.

“However, with the uptake of this technology we are learning that having real humans reviewing and verifying content remains absolutely key to mitigating rising mis and disinformation.”

She said newsrooms themselves now faced extra challenges in verifying and fact-checking. “As SBS director of news and current affairs Mandi Wicks explained in the newly released Digital News Report: Australia 2024, “the role is increasingly falling to news publishers to report on the news of the day, to combat ‘fake news’ and to moderate hate speech on their social media profiles, comments which are often AI-generated via bots.”

LINA’s sub-editing team consists of five junior sub-editors who are developing their skills, and five experienced sub-editors. The junior sub-editors are currently finalising a ten-week editing mentorship hosted in partnership with the Community Media Training Organisation, with senior subs sharing their knowledge at fortnightly seminars.

Pictured: Stuchbery with LINA team members at the 2024 summit in Port Douglas