Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

Future of News Production the Focus of NSF Planning Grant

Thursday, January 21, 2021, By Wendy S. Loughlin
Share
facultyNewhouse School of Public CommunicationsResearch and CreativeSchool of Information Studies

Two researchers from Syracuse University are part of a team that received a $130,000 planning grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier.

Kevin Crowston

Kevin Crowston

The project, “Planning to study automation and the future of news production,” brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to look at the impact of technology on journalists and journalism.

Kevin Crowston, distinguished professor of information science and associate dean for research at the School of Information Studies, is principal investigator. Keren Henderson, assistant professor of broadcast and digital journalism at the Newhouse School, is also part of the team. Other team members include Jeffrey Nickerson, professor at Stevens Institute of Technology’s School of Business, and Lydia Chilton, assistant professor of computer science at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

“The future work of journalists is great topic for our study because journalism has long been shaped by new technologies, from the printing press to the telephone to TV to the web, but guided by strong professional norms and values,” Crowston says. “We’re looking forward to understanding how this interplay shapes the use of smarter machines that can share part of the work.”

Henderson is conducting a qualitative case study of a large market local television newsroom. “Under which circumstances do local television journalists embrace technological innovations to improve their ability to inform the public, including professional storytelling across platforms?” Henderson asks.

Keren Henderson

Keren Henderson

“Journalists today are understandably concerned about how automation is used as a means of replacing human workers,” says Henderson. “Our team is approaching this research with the journalists’ best interests in mind. We want to help members of the Fourth Estate to do their best work.”

The planning grant supports the researchers as they develop a proposal for sustained research on the future of news production that may be supported by a large-scale grant from NSF. Their work would consider technologies such as natural language processing, crowdsourcing, information visualization and artificial intelligence. The planned work includes refining the project vision and theoretical framework, recruiting field sites and an advisory board, conducting pilot research to identify relevant technologies and impacts and planning of convergent research activities.

  • Author

Wendy S. Loughlin

  • Recent
  • DPS Earns Accreditation From International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
    Friday, June 6, 2025, By Kiana Racha
  • Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By News Staff
  • Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’
    Wednesday, June 4, 2025, By Joanna Penalva

More In Media, Law & Policy

Ian ’90 and Noah Eagle ’19 Share a Love of Sportscasting and Storytelling (Podcast)

There’s a new father-son sportscasting team on the national scene, one with a decidedly Orange background: Ian ’90 and Noah Eagle ’19. Ian finished his second year as the lead announcer for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and has crafted…

Newhouse Professor Robert Thompson Featured on ‘NBC Nightly News’ for Pop Culture Lecture Series

Newhouse School and University Professor Bob Thompson was recently featured on “NBC Nightly News” for his long-running lecture series that uses classic television to bridge generational divides and spark important conversation. The segment, produced by NBC’s Brian Cheung ’15—a University…

Newhouse Creative Advertising Students Win Big at Sports and Entertainment Clios

For the first time ever, Newhouse creative advertising students entered the Sports Clios and Entertainment Clios competitions and won big. Clios are regarded as some of the hardest awards for creative advertising students to win. At the New York City…

Memorial Fund Honors Remarkable Journalism Career, Supports Students Involved With IDJC

Maxwell School alumna Denise Kalette ’68 got her first byline at age 12, under a poem titled “The Poor Taxpayer” that she submitted to her local newspaper. In a few paragraphs of playful prose, she drew attention to an issue…

New Maymester Program Allows Student-Athletes to Develop ‘Democracy Playbook’

Fourteen student-athletes will experience Washington, D.C., next week as part of a new Maymester program hosted by the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship (IDJC). The one-week program, Democracy Playbook: DC Media and Civics Immersion for Student-Athletes, will…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.