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Sean McLaughlin’s recent TVNewsCheck column, “The News Budget We’ve Dreaded For Years Has Arrived,” immediately got my attention. I know it’s weird, but budgets are a topic near and dear to me. In addition to spending the majority of my career working with and for media’s senior finance professionals, I was also deeply involved in preparing the strategy and budget for the association that served those finance leaders. One of the many lessons that has stuck with me is that when revenue is trending down, the only two choices are to cut expenses or increase income.
Pointing out that stations have already made the easy cuts, McLaughlin provides nine tactics news departments might consider to solve their budget challenges. While a bit vague on specifics – each situation is unique — I agree with most of what he recommends. The suggestion that concerns me is “incorporate AI.” If you are looking to cut expenses, this is not a good short-term solution.
AI is a hot topic now. In fact, I’ve had the opportunity to attend a few recent seminars on the subject. Their specific focus has been on what a company’s board directors, the people charged with providing strategic direction for the company, should be considering. As such, they have offered a good overview on what companies should and should not be doing with the technology now.
What immediately came to mind with McLaughlin’s AI suggestion was a panelist who declared that the board’s first question should be, “Do you have an AI