McClatchy journalists protest AI rewrites published under their names

In short: McClatchy is using an AI tool to turn previously published stories into new articles while keeping the original reporters’ bylines, and journalists and unions are protesting.

What happened

McClatchy Publishing, which owns newspapers like The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, The Kansas City Star, and The Charlotte Observer, has started using an AI tool to repackage older stories into new articles. These new versions still show the original reporter’s name, even though the reporter did not write or edit the AI-made version.

Journalists say this creates a basic problem of responsibility. If the new article has an error, misinformation, or even a statement that harms someone’s reputation, it could look like the reporter wrote it. One way to think about it is a headline being “signed” with your name after someone else rewrote your work.

Some reporters are responding by withholding their bylines, meaning they do not want their names attached to these rewritten pieces. Unions at several McClatchy newsrooms, including The Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, and The Sacramento Bee, have filed formal grievances, which are official complaints under workplace rules.

McClatchy leaders have defended the practice as a way to publish more stories. A company executive, Eric Nelson, said journalists who embrace the tool “are going to win,” and those who resist “will fall behind.”

Why it matters

Readers often treat a byline as a promise about who gathered the facts and can answer for mistakes. If AI-written summaries appear under a reporter’s name without their involvement, it can blur trust and make it harder to know who is accountable when something is wrong.

Source: NYTimes