STUDY GUIDE

Introduction

FUTM-ISM 127 Introduction to Robot Journalism is a 2- credit unit course for students studying

towards acquiring a Bachelor of Technology in Information Science and Media Studies. The course is

divided into 4 modules and 13 study units. The first module lays the foundation to robot journalism

where meaning, historical overview, technologies and key players involved in robot journalism are

given. The second module examines in details the core technologies driving robot journalism which are

Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The

module also identifies data sources and means of assessing data for robot journalism. The third module

is on automated story generation and the specific focus is on methods of collecting and cleaning data for

robot journalism and algorithms and techniques for generating stories. The focus of the fourth module is

ethical issues, social implications and future trends in robot journalism. The course guide therefore gives

you an overview of what FUTM-ISM 127 is all about, the textbooks and other materials to be

referenced, what you expect to know in each unit, and how to work through the course material.

Recommended Study Time

This course is a 2-credit unit course having 13 study units. You are therefore enjoined to spend at least 2

hours in studying the content of each study unit.

What You Will Learn in this Course

The overall aim of this course, FUTM-ISM 127, is to introduce you to basic concepts of robot

journalism. At the end of this course you would have learnt the:

i. The meaning of robot journalism.

ii. The technologies involved in robot journalism.

iii. Key players in the robot journalism industry.

 iv. Ethical issues in robot journalism.

v. Future trends in robot journalism.

Course Aim

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the basic concept of robot journalism. It is expected that

knowledge gained in this course will assist you understand how to use robots to generate and

disseminate journalistic contents in the digital age.

Course Objectives

It is important to note that each unit has specific objectives. Students should study them carefully before

proceeding to subsequent units. Therefore, it may be useful to refer to these objectives in the course of

your study of the unit to assess your progress. You should always look at the unit objectives after

completing a unit. In this way, you can be sure that you have done what is required of you by the end of

the unit. However, below are overall objectives of this course. On completing this course, you should be

able to:

i. Define robot journalism.

ii. Identify the two major pillars of robot journalism.

iii. State four examples of sophisticated AI algorithms used in robot journalism.

iv. Explain any four functions of a robot editor.

v. Elaborate on any four functions of a mobile article generator.

vi. Demonstrate how a robot journalist storywriter operates.

vii. State any 10 intelligent software used in creating news content.

viii. Identify any four fields of application of robot journalism.

ix. State five (5) advantages and three (3) disadvantages of robot journalism to the journalism

industry.
 x. Discuss any two ethical considerations in robot journalism.

xi. List any 10 media institutions around the world that have embraced robot journalism.

xii. Discuss the future of robot journalism.

Working through this Course

In order to have a thorough understanding of the course units, you will need to attend lectures regularly,

read and understand the contents, attempt the tutor marked assignments and practice the art of robot

journalism as enunciated in the course.

This course is designed to cover approximately thirteen weeks, and it will require your devoted

attention. You should do the exercises in the Tutor-Marked Assignments and submit to your tutors.

Course Materials

The major components of the course are:

1. Course Guide

2. Study Units

3. Tutor marked assignments

4. References and further reading

Study Units

There are Thirteen (13) Study Units and Four (4) Modules in this course. They are:

Foundations of Robot Journalism

Unit 1 Definition and Scope of Robot Journalism
Unit 2 Historical Evolution and Milestones of Robot Journalism
MODULE ONE Unit 3 Overview of Technologies Enabling Robot Journalism
Unit 4 Key Players in the Robot Journalism Industry
Unit 5 Overview of Tools and Platforms for Robot Journalism
Technologies Underpinning Robot Journalism
 Unit 6 Basics of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and its
Applications in Robot Journalism
Unit 7 Overview of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence
MODULE TWO (AI) Techniques in Robot Journalism
Unit 8 Overview of Data Sources for Robot Journalism and How to
Access Them Using Application Programming Interfaces
(APIs)
Automated Story Generation
MODULE THREE Unit 9 Methods of Collecting and Cleaning Data for Robot Journalism
Unit 10 Algorithms and Techniques for Generating Stories
MODULE FOUR Ethical Issues, Social Implications & Future Trends in Robot Journalism
Unit 11 Ethical Issues in robot Journalism
Unit 12 Social Implications of Robot Journalism
Unit 13 Future Trends in Robot Journalism

Recommended Reading Materials

The following reading materials will be of enormous benefit to you in learning this course:

Books:

1. Bhaskar, M. (2013). The content machine: Towards a theory of publishing from the printing
press to the digital network. Anthem Press. https://doi.org/10.7135/UPO9781843318775
or https://www.anthempress.com/the-content-machine
2. Bird, S., Klein, E., & Loper, E. (2009). Natural language processing with Python. O'Reilly
Media. https://www.nltk.org/book/
3. Christian, B., & Griffiths, T. (2016). Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human
decisions. Henry Holt and Co.
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627790369/algorithmstoliveby
4. Coeckelbergh, M. (2020). AI ethics. MIT Press. Available from
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/ai-ethics
5. Diakopoulos, N. (2019). Automating the news: How algorithms are rewriting the media. Harvard
University Press. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674976986
6. Diakopoulos, N. (2020). Automating the news: How algorithms are rewriting the media. Oxford
University Press. Available from https://global.oup.com/academic/product/automating-
the-news-9780190963097
7. Erl, T., Puttini, R., & Mahmood, Z. (2013). Cloud computing: Concepts, technology &
architecture. Prentice Hall. https://www.pearson.com/store/p/cloud-computing-concepts-
technology-architecture/P100L6TX
8. Foreman, G. (2019). The ethical journalist: Making responsible decisions in the digital age.
Wiley. Available from https://www.wiley.com/en
us/The+Ethical+Journalist%3A+Making+Responsible+Decisions+in+the+Digital+Age-
p-9781119045669
9. Géron, A. (2019). Hands-on machine learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow
(2nd ed.). O'Reilly Media. https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/hands-on-machine-
learning/9781492032632/
10. Gray, J., Bounegru, L., & Chambers, L. (Eds.). (2016). The Data Journalism Handbook:
Towards a Critical Data Practice. Amsterdam University Press.
11. Gray, J., Chambers, L., & Bounegru, L. (Eds.). (2012). The data journalism handbook. O'Reilly
Media. Retrieved from https://datajournalismhandbook.org/
12. Han, J., Kamber, M., & Pei, J. (2011). Data mining: Concepts and techniques (3rd ed.). Elsevier.
https://www.elsevier.com/books/data-mining/han/978-0-12-381479-1
13. Healy, K. (2018). Data visualization: A practical introduction. Princeton University Press.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691181615/data-visualization
14. Jurafsky, D., & Martin, J. H. (2021). Speech and language processing (3rd ed.). Draft.
https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/slp3/
15. Kazil, J., & Jarmul, K. (2016). Data wrangling with Python: Tips and tools to make your life
easier (1st ed.). O'Reilly Media.
16. Knaflic, C. N. (2015). Storytelling with data: A data visualization guide for business
professionals. Wiley. https://www.wiley.com/en-
us/Storytelling+with+Data%3A+A+Data+Visualization+Guide+for+Business+Professio
nals-p-9781119002253
17. Mair, J., Keeble, R. L., & Lucero, M. (Eds.). (2019). Data journalism: Inside the global future.
Abramis Academic Publishing.
18. McKinney, W. (2017). Python for data analysis: Data wrangling with Pandas, NumPy, and
IPython (2nd ed.). O'Reilly Media.
19. Mitchell, R. (2018). Web scraping with Python: Collecting more data from the modern web
(2nd ed.). O'Reilly Media.
20. Murphy, K. P. (2012). Machine learning: A probabilistic perspective. MIT Press.
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262018029/machine-learning/
21. Paris, C. L., Swartout, W. R., & Mann, W. C. (1998). Natural language generation in artificial
intelligence and computational linguistics. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4615-5833-2
22. Peng, R. D., & Matsui, E. (2021). The art of data science. Leanpub. Retrieved from
https://leanpub.com/artofdatascience
23. Provost, F., & Fawcett, T. (2013). Data science for business: What you need to know about data
mining and data-analytic thinking. O'Reilly Media.
https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/data-science-for/9781449374273/
24. Riche, N. H., Hurter, C., Diakopoulos, N., & Carpendale, S. (Eds.). (2018). Data-driven
storytelling. CRC Press.
25. Tripathi, A. M. (2018). Robotic process automation: Guide for implementation. Apress.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4842-3896-2
 26. Wiener, N. (1988). The human use of human beings: Cybernetics and society. Hachette Book
Group. Available from https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/norbert-wiener/the-
human-use-of-human-beings/9780306803208

Academic Papers and Articles:

27. Angwin, J. (2018). The algorithmic accountability reporting handbook. ProPublica.

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-algorithmic-accountability-reporting-handbook
28. Berinato, S. (2016). How data visualization is enhancing news reporting. Harvard Business
Review. https://hbr.org/2016/06/how-data-visualization-is-enhancing-news-reporting
29. Broersma, M., & Deuze, L. (2020). News bots that learn: Towards a flexible newsroom
automation in journalism. Digital Journalism, 8(6), 800-810.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1760912
30. Carlson, M. (2018). How automation and AI are influencing newsrooms. Journalism Studies,
19(3), 347-360. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1461670X.2018.1445677
31. Carlson, M. (2021). Automated journalism: The contributions of AI and algorithmic technologies
to the construction of news narratives. Digital Journalism, 9(6), 819-837.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1819454
32. Daffy, L. J. (2020). How machine learning is changing journalism. Towards Data Science.
https://towardsdatascience.com/how-machine-learning-is-changing-journalism-
4b7256b9d8de
33. Decker, B. (2020). The dawn of robot reporters: A timeline of journalism automation.
MediaShift. Retrieved June 18, 2024, from https://mediashift.org/2020/09/the-dawn-of-
robot-reporters-a-timeline-of-journalism-automation/
34. Diakopoulos, N. (2016). Algorithmic accountability: A primer. Data & Society.
https://datasociety.net/pubs/ia/DataAndSociety_Algorithmic_Accountability_Primer_201
6.pdf
35. Etherington, D. (2019). How cloud computing is transforming journalism. TechCrunch.
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/05/how-cloud-computing-is-transforming-journalism/
36. Graefe, A. (2016). Automated journalism: A review and look ahead. International Journal of
Communication, 10, 168–188. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3149/1558
37. Graefe, A. (2017). From Iron Curtain to Information Curtain: Automated news in the digital era.
Journalism Studies, 18(5), 541-561. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2016.1169061
38. Hermida, A., & Young, M. L. (2010). Data-driven journalism: What is there to learn?
Journalism Practice, 4(3), 356-371. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512781003690886
39. Ingram, M. (2017). Automation in the newsroom: How bots are taking over. Columbia
Journalism Review. https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/newsroom_bots.php
40. Lohr, S. (2013). Data mining in journalism. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/technology/data-mining-in-journalism.html
41. Marconi, F. (2018). The rise of the robot reporter. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/the-rise-
of-the-robot-reporter/
42. Marconi, F., & Siegman, A. (2017). The rise of the robot reporter. Columbia Journalism Review.
https://www.cjr.org/analysis/the-rise-of-the-robot-reporter.php
43. McCartney, A. (2019). Natural language processing for journalists: How computers learn to
write. The Poynter Institute. https://www.poynter.org/tech-tools/2019/natural-language-
processing-for-journalists-how-computers-learn-to-write/
 44. Merrill, J. B. (2017). The role of machine learning in newsroom automation. Columbia
Journalism Review.
https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/machine_learning_in_the_newsroom.php
45. Robins, J. M. (2020). The benefits of cloud computing for news organizations. The Information.
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/the-benefits-of-cloud-computing-for-news-
organizations
46. Ruder, S. (2018). An overview of NLP in the media industry. Medium.
https://towardsdatascience.com/an-overview-of-nlp-in-the-media-industry-8df8a0d3d8e2
47. Slobin, S. (2018). Data visualization in journalism: Telling stories with numbers. Quartz.
https://qz.com/1229878/data-visualization-in-journalism-telling-stories-with-numbers/
48. Smith, M. (2018). How newsrooms are using AI to automate the news. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jul/18/how-newsrooms-are-using-ai-to-
automate-the-news
49. Wihbey, J. (2014). Big data journalism: Real-time analytics and reporting. Nieman Reports.
https://niemanreports.org/articles/big-data-journalism-real-time-analytics-and-reporting/
50. Yao, M., Zhou, A., & Jia, M. (2019). Automated journalism: AI applications at New York
Times, Reuters, and other media giants. Emerj. https://emerj.com/ai-sector-
overviews/automated-journalism-ai-applications/

Online Articles and Reports:

51. BBC. (2020, October 27). Robots in the newsroom: AI is taking a bigger role in the media. BBC
News. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54763973
52. Carlson, M. (2015). The ethics of automated journalism: Issues and practical considerations.
Digital Journalism, 3(3), 372-384. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.976400
53. Diakopoulos, N. (2016). Algorithmic accountability: A primer. Data & Society.
https://datasociety.net/pubs/ia/DataAndSociety_Algorithmic_Accountability_Primer_201
6.pdf
54. Diakopoulos, N. (2016). Algorithmic accountability: A primer. Data & Society Research
Institute. https://datasociety.net/research/algorithmic-accountability/algorithmic-
accountability-primer/
55. Diakopoulos, N., Carlson, M., & Friedland, L. (2019). Ethics in data and AI-driven journalism:
Algorithmic transparency in newsrooms. Digital Journalism, 7(8), 1063-1078.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1667623
56. Ethical Journalism Network. (2020). AI in journalism: Ethical considerations. Ethical
Journalism Network. https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/resources/publications/ethics-
in-journalism-2/ai-in-journalism-ethical-considerations
57. Faggella, D. (2019). Automated journalism – AI applications at New York Times, Reuters, and
other media giants. Emerj. https://emerj.com/ai-sector-overviews/automated-journalism-
ai-applications-at-new-york-times-reuters-and-other-media-giants/
58. Forbes. (n.d.). The future of journalism: How robots will help report the news. Forbes. Retrieved
June 18, 2024, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/12/15/the-
future-of-journalism-how-robots-will-help-report-the-news
59. Marconi, F. (2018). The ethics of AI in journalism: Are both simple and complicated. Nieman
Lab. https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/03/the-ethics-of-ai-in-journalism-are-both-simple-
and-complicated/
 60. Pew Research Center. (2018, July 9). The rise of automated journalism. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2018/07/09/the-rise-of-automated-journalism/
61. The New York Times. (2019, February 5). How artificial intelligence is transforming journalism.
The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/technology/artificial-
intelligence-journalism.html
62. The New Yorker. (n.d.). The history and future of robot journalism. The New Yorker. Retrieved
June 18, 2024, from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-history-a
nd-future-of-robot-journalism

Reports and Case Studies:

63. African Arguments. (n.d.). How artificial intelligence is changing journalism in Africa. Retrieved
from https://africanarguments.org
64. Associated Press. (n.d.). Automation in action: How the Associated Press uses automation to
produce earnings reports. Retrieved June 18, 2024, from https://www.ap.org/en-
us/about/news-values-and-principles/automation-in-action
65. Automated Insights Automated Insights. (n.d.). Automated Insights. Retrieved from
https://automatedinsights.com
66. Ax Semantics Ax Semantics. (n.d.). Ax Semantics. Retrieved from https://www.ax-
semantics.com
67. BBC BBC. (n.d.). BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com
68. BBC News. (n.d.). The rise of robot reporters in newsrooms. Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/news
69. Bloomberg Bloomberg. (n.d.). Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com
70. Columbia Journalism Review. (n.d.). AI in news: The impact of automation on journalism.
Retrieved from https://www.cjr.org
71. Emerj. (n.d.). Automated journalism – AI applications at New York Times, Reuters, and other
media giants. Retrieved from https://emerj.com
72. Forbes Forbes. (n.d.). Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com
73. Narrative Science Narrative Science. (n.d.). Narrative Science. Retrieved from
https://www.narrativescience.com
74. Punch Newspapers. (n.d.). Digital media: The future of journalism in Nigeria. Retrieved from
https://punchng.com
75. Quartz Quartz. (n.d.). Quartz. Retrieved from https://qz.com
76. Reuters Reuters. (n.d.). Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com
77. Techpoint Africa. (n.d.). Automation and the future of journalism in Nigeria. Retrieved from
https://techpoint.africa
78. The Associated Press (AP) Associated Press. (n.d.). The Associated Press. Retrieved from
https://www.ap.org
79. The Guardian. (n.d.). How automated writing is changing the media. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com
80. The New York Times The New York Times. (n.d.). The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com
81. United Robots United Robots. (n.d.). United Robots. Retrieved from https://unitedrobots.ai
82. Washington Post Washington Post. (n.d.). The Washington Post. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com
Courses and Tutorials
83. European Journalism Centre. (n.d.). Data-driven journalism: The basics. Coursera.
Retrieved from https://www.coursera.org/
84. University of Hong Kong. (n.d.). Data science and machine learning for journalists. edX.
Retrieved from https://www.edx.org/
85. Portilla, J. (n.d.). Python for data science and machine learning bootcamp. Udemy.
Retrieved from https://www.udemy.com/

Academic Theses:
86. Davis, L. E. (2018). Ethical implications of automated journalism (Master’s thesis).
University of Southern California Digital Library.
https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/thesis/00m5x59g

Assignment File

The assignment file will be given to you in due course. In this file, you will find all the details of the

work you must submit to your tutor for marking. The marks you obtain for these assignments will count

towards the final mark for the course. Altogether, there are tutor marked assignments for this course.

Presentation Schedule

The presentation schedule included in this course guide provides you with important dates for

completion of each tutor marked assignment. You should therefore endeavor to meet the deadlines.

Assessment

There are two aspects to the assessment of this course. First, there are tutor marked assignments; and

second, the written examination. Therefore, you are expected to take note of the facts, information and

problem solving gathered during the course. The tutor marked assignments must be submitted to your

tutor for formal assessment, in accordance to the deadline given. The work submitted will count for 40%

of your total course mark. At the end of the course, you will need to sit for a final written examination.

This examination will account for 60% of your total score. You will be required to submit some

assignments by uploading them to FUT-ISM 127 page on the LMS portal.

Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs)

There are TMAs in this course. You need to submit all the TMAs. The best 10 will therefore be counted.

When you have completed each assignment, send them to your tutor as soon as possible and make

certain that it gets to your tutor on or before the stipulated deadline. If for any reason you cannot

complete your assignment on time, contact your tutor before the assignment is due to discuss the

possibility of extension. Extension will not be granted after the deadline, unless on extraordinary cases.

Final Examination and Grading

The final examination for FUTM-ISM 1267 will last for a period of 2 hours and has a value of 60% of

the total course grade. The examination will consist of questions which reflect the self assessment

questions and tutor marked assignments that you have previously encountered. Furthermore, all areas of

the course will be examined. It would be better to use the time between finishing the last unit and sitting

for the examination, to revise the entire course. You might find it useful to review your TMAs and

comment on them before the examination. The final examination covers information from all parts of

the course.

The following are Practical Strategies for Working through this Course

1. Read the course guide thoroughly

2. Organize a study schedule. Refer to the course overview for more details. Note the time you are

expected to spend on each unit and how the assignment relates to the units. Important details, e.g. details

of your tutorials and the date of the first day of the semester are available. You need to gather together

all this information in one place such as a diary, a wall chart calendar or an organizer. Whatever method

you choose, you should decide on and write in your own dates for working on each unit.
3. Once you have created your own study schedule, do everything you can to stick to it. The major

reason that students fail is that they get behind with their course works. If you get into difficulties with

your schedule, please let your tutor know before it is too late for help.

4. Turn to Unit 1 and read the introduction and the objectives for the unit.

5. Assemble the study materials. Information about what you need for a unit is given in the table of

content at the beginning of each unit. You will almost always need both the study unit you are working

on and one of the materials recommended for further readings, on your desk at the same time.

6. Work through the unit, the content of the unit itself has been arranged to provide a sequence for you

to follow. As you work through the unit, you will be encouraged to read from your set books.

7. Keep in mind that you will learn a lot by doing all your assignments carefully. They have been

designed to help you meet the objectives of the course and will help you pass the examination.

8. Review the objectives of each study unit to confirm that you have achieved them. If you are not

certain about any of the objectives, review the study material and consult your tutor.

9. When you are confident that you have achieved a unit’s objectives, you can start on the next unit.

Proceed unit by unit through the course and try to pace your study so that you can keep yourself on

schedule.

10. When you have submitted an assignment to your tutor for marking, do not wait for its return before

starting on the next unit. Keep to your schedule. When the assignment is returned, pay particular

attention to your tutor’s comments, both on the tutor marked assignment form and also written on the

assignment. Consult you tutor as soon as possible if you have any questions or problems.

11. After completing the last unit, review the course and prepare yourself for the final examination.

Check that you have achieved the unit objectives (listed at the beginning of each unit) and the course

objectives (listed in this course guide).

Tutors and Tutorials

There are few hours of tutorial provided in support of this course. You will be notified of the dates, time

and location together with the name and phone number of your tutor as soon as you are allocated a

tutorial group. Your tutor will mark and comment on your assignments, keep a close watch on your

progress and on any difficulties you might encounter and provide assistance to you during the course.

You must mail your tutor marked assignment to your tutor well before the due date. At least two

working days are required for this purpose. They will be marked by your tutor and returned to you as

soon as possible. Do not hesitate to contact your tutor by telephone, e-mail or discussion board if you

need help. The following might be circumstances in which you would find help necessary: contact your

tutor if:

1. You do not understand any part of the study units or the assigned readings.

2. You have difficulty with the self test or exercise.

3. You have questions or problems with an assignment, with your tutor’s comments on an assignment or

with the grading of an assignment.

You should endeavour to attend the tutorials. This is the only opportunity to have face to face contact

with your tutor and ask questions which are answered instantly. You can raise any problem encountered

in the course of your study. To gain the maximum benefit from the course tutorials, have some questions

handy before attending them. You will learn a lot from participating actively in discussions.

GOOD LUCK!