🔍 Read the full analysis: Inside The Lenfest Institute’s Growing Program And Expanded OpenAI Support on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
The Lenfest Institute announced a new phase of its AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program on September 28, backed by a $5 million OpenAI commitment and up to $5 million in software credits and engineering support. The program plans to add news organizations and develop reusable tools, though the new cohort and rollout details have not yet been announced.
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism announced a new phase of its AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program on September 28, backed by a new $5 million commitment from OpenAI and up to $5 million in software credits and engineering support, as detailed in the original analysis. The expansion is intended to bring more news organizations into a program that embeds AI engineers in newsrooms and to turn some of their projects into resources other outlets can use.
The announcement describes an expansion of the fellowship, which began in 2024 with AI engineering fellows at 11 major U.S. news organizations. Lenfest says it will invite a new group of organizations to join. Fellows are expected to work with newsroom and business teams on practical projects, as well as on policies and safeguards for using AI. The announcement does not identify the next cohort or give a schedule for selecting participants.
OpenAI’s new support includes $5 million in funding, plus up to $5 million in software credits and engineering support, according to the joint announcement. OpenAI said it has doubled its previous support for the program. The announcement does not break down how much of the credit and engineering package will take each form, or specify how the new funding will be distributed among participating organizations and shared projects.
The Institute also plans to expand its technical capacity and develop reusable tools, frameworks, plugins, implementation guides and other materials from selected fellowship projects. The stated aim is to make work developed in one newsroom useful to others. The organizations say the first phase produced projects across audience engagement, investigative research, news products, advertising and reader revenue. Those descriptions come from the program’s organizers; the announcement does not provide an independent evaluation of the projects’ results.
For local publishers, the expansion could offer access to engineering expertise and software that many organizations may not have the budget or staff to develop alone. The fellowship model places technologists inside news organizations, where they can work with reporters, product staff and revenue teams on specific problems. The proposed shared resources could extend some of that work beyond the participating outlets.
The program also reflects a choice about how newsrooms adopt AI: fellows are expected to build tools alongside staff and develop policies for their use, rather than treating adoption as a software purchase alone. That approach may help organizations identify where technology fits their workflows and where editorial judgment remains necessary. Whether it improves journalism, revenue or efficiency will depend on how projects perform in practice, and the announcement does not provide measured outcomes that establish those effects.
OpenAI’s role makes the arrangement relevant beyond the participating newsrooms. The AI company is supporting a program that explores how news organizations use AI while also operating in an industry where publishers have debated licensing, attribution and the use of their work by AI companies. The announcement does not explain whether the expanded program addresses those broader concerns. Its stated focus is on newsroom experimentation, technical capacity and shared learning.
From 2024 Pilot to Broader Cohort
The Lenfest AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program launched in 2024 with support from OpenAI and Microsoft. The initial announcement named five outlets receiving grants for two-year AI fellowships: Chicago Public Media, Newsday, The Minnesota Star Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Seattle Times. The program later described its initial footprint as 11 participating organizations. Its fellows were tasked with exploring applications for newsroom work and the business operations that help sustain local reporting.
Examples in the new announcement include Dewey, a tool developed at The Philadelphia Inquirer to search decades of archived reporting, and Scrape, which the Institute says turns a recurring reporting task into a daily digest of potential story leads. Chicago Public Media used AI-assisted translation workflows and transcribed audio archives, according to the announcement. These are examples provided by the program’s organizers, rather than independent assessments of accuracy, savings or audience impact.
The next phase adds a plan to convert selected projects into materials that other newsrooms can adapt. That marks a change in emphasis from supporting fellows at individual outlets to building resources intended for wider use. Lenfest says it expects those resources to benefit hundreds of news organizations, but the announcement does not set a timetable or define how many tools will be produced.
““Responsible AI adoption is less about the technology and more about trust.””
— Jim Friedlich, Lenfest Institute executive director and CEO
Cohort, Schedule and Results Await Detail
The announcement does not say which news organizations will join the next cohort, how they will be selected, or when the new fellowships will begin. It also does not spell out how the $5 million commitment will be allocated, or how participating outlets can access the software credits and engineering support valued at up to another $5 million.
Questions about results also remain open. The organizations describe the pilot as demonstrating the value of embedded engineers, but the announcement provides no common measures for editorial quality, audience effects, revenue, cost savings or staff adoption. It does not say what data will be collected, who will assess the work, or whether results from the first phase will be independently reviewed. The characterization of the program as a large or successful model comes from its organizers.
It is also not clear which projects will be turned into shared tools, what maintenance or technical support those tools will receive, or how other newsrooms will be able to use them. The announcement says the Institute intends to produce practical resources but does not provide release dates or access terms.
Lenfest to Name the Next Participants
The next visible step is for the Lenfest Institute to invite and identify the new group of participating news organizations. As the program moves into implementation, outlets and observers will be looking for details about eligibility, fellowship length, funding distribution and the responsibilities of the embedded engineers.
The Institute says it plans to build reusable tools and guidance from selected projects. Further announcements could clarify which projects will be adapted, how they will be shared, and what support will accompany them. Public case studies or progress reports would also help newsrooms judge whether the approaches can transfer to organizations with different staff, technology and business needs.
For now, the confirmed development is a larger funding and support commitment and an announced plan to widen the fellowship. Evidence about the expanded cohort’s work and outcomes will come later, as the Institute publishes implementation details and participating newsrooms put projects into practice.
Key Questions
How much is OpenAI committing to the program?
OpenAI committed $5 million, with up to $5 million more in software credits and engineering support, according to the joint announcement.
How many news organizations will take part in the next phase?
The announcement says the Lenfest Institute will invite a new group, but it does not give a number or name the organizations.
What will the AI fellows do?
Fellows will work with newsroom and business teams on practical AI projects and on policies for using the technology. Earlier projects included archive search, public-data reporting, translation and revenue operations.
When will the expanded program begin?
No start date or selection timetable was provided in the September 28 announcement.
Primary source: OpenAI · via ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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