OpenAI is deepening its support for journalism innovation through an expanded partnership with the Lenfest Institute, growing the Lenfest AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program with significant new resources.
The expansion includes $5 million in funding along with up to $5 million in software credits and engineering support. These resources can help participating news organizations test AI tools, build newsroom workflows, and explore new ways to serve audiences more effectively.
Why this matters
Local and public-interest journalism often faces limited technical capacity, making it harder to experiment with emerging technologies. By pairing funding with software access and engineering expertise, the program gives newsrooms a stronger foundation to use AI in practical, responsible ways.
- Supports AI adoption in journalism with real funding and technical resources
- Helps newsrooms explore responsible AI use cases
- Strengthens the ecosystem for local and mission-driven media innovation
For the journalism sector, this is a meaningful boost: AI can help reduce repetitive work, improve audience engagement, and free reporters and editors to focus more time on high-impact reporting.