OpenAI has introduced the OpenAI Academy for News Organizations, a US-based initiative aimed at providing structured education and resources for newsrooms.

Developed in collaboration with the American Journalism Project and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the academy targets editorial, product, and business teams.

The academy offers on-demand training, practical use cases, open-source projects, and guidance on responsible AI usage. One of the first sessions, AI Essentials for Journalists, introduces ChatGPT capabilities including prompting, document analysis, research, data analysis, and building custom GPTs.

“The session is designed around newsroom-specific demonstrations and focuses on experimentation, responsible use, and familiarity with tools, rather than automation or replacement of editorial judgment,” OpenAI stated.

Training is not limited to reporting teams. The programme also supports product, technology, and business staff, with case studies and playbooks reflecting real operational newsroom challenges.

Advanced sessions for technical and product teams cover MCP servers, connectors, and the Apps SDK, enabling integration of internal data and systems with ChatGPT, while exploratory sessions allow organisations to assess AI integration suitability.

Nonprofit newsrooms can access sessions tailored to donor research and fundraising, with OpenAI emphasising that AI supplements rather than replaces existing development practices. The academy serves as a shared learning platform, providing structured tools and examples for organisations exploring AI while leaving editorial choices with individual newsrooms.

Ronan Turner, Head of Learning at OpenAI, commented, “We're launching OpenAI Academy for News Organizations, in partnership with the American Journalism Project and Lenfest Institute for Journalism.”

Discover how newsrooms can engage with OpenAI Academy and integrate AI learning across teams in the full story.

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