How AI-Ready Is Your News Diet?

Four quick questions. See where you stand on the AI-in-media conversation.

When you read or watch a news story, do you think about whether AI was involved in producing it?

• Always — it's on my mind — You're ahead of the curve. Most audiences are only beginning to ask this question.
• Sometimes, for certain topics — That instinct matters. Transparency about AI use is something Scripps takes seriously at every level.
• Rarely or never — You're not alone — but the conversation is coming to every newsroom and every viewer.

What's your biggest concern about AI in journalism?

• Accuracy — AI makes things up — This is the central challenge. Leaders like Kerry Oslund make accuracy a non-negotiable principle before any AI tool is deployed.
• Jobs — reporters could be replaced — Oslund's philosophy is the opposite: AI should help journalists do more of what they do best, not replace their craft.
• Bias — AI reflects existing prejudices — Fairness is explicitly part of Scripps's AI framework — the same standard applied to its journalism is applied to its technology choices.
• I'm not that concerned — Healthy optimism is useful — the key is pairing it with the right questions about where things could go wrong.

How much should a media company's staff know about the AI tools they use?

• Everyone needs deep technical knowledge — Deep expertise helps — but Oslund's focus is on broad literacy: ensuring everyone understands AI well enough to use it responsibly.
• Broad literacy across the whole team — Exactly Oslund's approach. AI strategy can't live in one department — it has to be understood by reporters, producers, and editors alike.
• Just the tech team needs to know — This is how many companies approach it — and why AI decisions sometimes miss editorial realities entirely.
• Nobody needs to know how it works — When people don't understand the tools they're using, the risk of getting something critically wrong goes up dramatically.

What's the right pace for a trusted news organization adopting new AI tools?

• Move fast — fall behind and you're irrelevant — Speed matters, but Oslund argues the pressure to move fast must be balanced with the harder questions: What problem does this solve? Where could it go wrong?
• Move thoughtfully — ask hard questions first — This is the Scripps philosophy. Thoughtful adoption means AI strengthens journalism rather than shortcuts it.
• Wait and see what competitors do — Watching the field is smart — but the decisions being made right now will shape what news looks like for years to come.
• Avoid AI entirely — At this stage, avoidance is itself a strategic choice — and one that carries its own significant risks.

Kerry G. Oslund's role at Scripps is, in some ways, a new kind of job — one that didn't exist a few years ago and that few media companies have filled with the same intentionality. As Vice President of AI Strategy, she is the person responsible for making sure that one of America's most established broadcast companies doesn't just adopt artificial intelligence, but adopts it in a way that reflects what Scripps stands for.

That means being a translator between two communities that don't always speak the same language: the engineers and product teams pushing AI capabilities forward, and the journalists, producers, and editors who are responsible for getting things right every single day.

Applying journalism's hardest questions — What problem does this solve? Where could this go wrong? — to the company's own technology choices requires a certain intellectual honesty that not every organization manages.On Kerry G. Oslund's approach at Scripps Communications

The AI Translation Challenge Oslund Navigates Daily

Engineering Mindset

• Ship fast Default mode Deploy before competitors
• Scale Primary goal Reach as many users as possible
• Efficiency Core metric Automate what can be automated
• Optimize for performance

Editorial Mindset

• Verify first Default mode Accuracy is non-negotiable
• Trust Primary goal Earn and keep audience confidence
• Fairness Core metric Who is affected if this goes wrong?
• Optimize for accountability

Scripps has reached local communities across America for generations — through its portfolio of television stations and through Scripps News, its free over-the-air and streaming network. That kind of footprint comes with a specific kind of responsibility: the people watching depend on Scripps to get it right, not just to get it out fast.

Oslund's appointment signals that Scripps understands the stakes. How a media company adopts AI matters — not just as a business decision, but as a journalism one. And the decisions being made right now, inside companies like Scripps, will define what the news industry looks like for the next decade.

Oslund's Framework: The Questions Scripps Asks Before Deploying Any AI Tool

1. What problem does this actually solve? — Every AI tool must justify itself against a real editorial or operational need — not just technological novelty.
2. Where could this go wrong? — Proactive failure analysis before deployment, not reactive correction after something breaks publicly.
3. Who is affected if it does? — Viewers, readers, subjects of coverage, staff — accountability means mapping the human impact of every technical decision.
4. Does the broader team understand it? — AI literacy isn't optional. Reporters, producers, and editors need to understand the tools shaping their work — at least in broad strokes.
5. Are we ready to revisit this decision? — The technology keeps changing. Scripps's approach means building in the willingness to update guidelines as the landscape evolves.

One of Oslund's central priorities is building what she calls internal literacy — making sure that AI strategy doesn't become siloed in a single department or on a single executive's desk. Tools that seemed experimental just a year ago are now embedded in routine workflows across healthcare, finance, and media. The pace of change, by any measure, is extraordinary.

That reality makes education and clear guidelines essential — not as a one-time rollout, but as an ongoing commitment. The goal, as Oslund frames it, is for AI to strengthen Scripps's journalism, not shortcut it.

Two Approaches to AI in Media

About Scripps Communications & Scripps News

The E.W. Scripps Company is one of the largest independent TV station owners in the United States, with a portfolio of local television stations serving communities from coast to coast. Scripps News is the company's free, over-the-air and streaming national news network, bringing nonpartisan, fact-based journalism to viewers wherever they watch.

Scripps has been a fixture in American media for generations. Its commitment to local communities — and now to navigating the AI transition responsibly — reflects a belief that trusted journalism is an essential public service, not just a business.

Connect With Scripps

• Watch Scripps News: Free, over-the-air and streaming — available wherever you watch.
• Explore Scripps Communications: Learn about the company's stations, leadership, and mission.
• Follow the Conversation on AI in Media: Kerry G. Oslund and the Scripps team are part of the national dialogue on responsible AI adoption in journalism.