Over the course of four sessions, more than 50 journalists and editors from Clarín explored how to apply artificial intelligence in their workflows, experimenting with new formats and designing practical solutions for daily use, with sessions built around 3 frameworks:
- A user-needs-driven approach
- An analysis of shifting consumption habits
- A strategic approach to AI as a cross-functional technology
At a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of the production processes in many newsrooms, one fundamental question becomes increasingly urgent: how can this technology be integrated in a way that strengthens the connection between journalism, formats, and audiences?
In the first half of 2025, I led a workshop inside the newsroom of Clarín, one of Argentina’s leading media outlets. The goal was to explore new narrative formats for news and move forward with the practical integration of AI into daily editorial workflows. Across four in-person sessions, I worked with 50 journalists and editors from multiple sections — Breaking News, Politics, Economy, Culture, Entertainment, and specialized verticals — in a hands-on learning environment that blended theory, experimentation, and real production.
From the beginning, I made it clear that the purpose of the workshop wasn’t simply to teach tools. Instead, it was about rethinking how we organize, present, and even automate information through a journalistic lens, with AI acting as a supportive partner in that process. To guide the sessions, I structured the learning around three key conceptual frameworks:
- A user-needs-driven approach, inspired by the BBC’s Dmitry Shishkin model. This perspective focuses on the various motivations that lead people to seek out news — not just to stay informed. It helps create content tailored to different moments of consumption and levels of reader knowledge.
- An analysis of shifting consumption habits. Today, many people access news through search engines or social media, without ever visiting a homepage. News now competes with thousands of other stimuli for increasingly limited attention spans. This reality calls for storytelling that is clearer, more concise, and modular.
- A strategic approach to AI as a cross-functional technology. AI tools don’t replace journalists, but they can support, speed up, or enhance many parts of the editorial process. The workshop aimed to explore how to use AI with intention, focusing on real utility and added value.
This article documents the full process — from the methodology and conceptual foundations to the specific use cases that emerged through collaborative work. The aim is to provide a useful reference for other newsrooms exploring how to integrate AI in a strategic way, one that remains grounded in the core principles of journalism.
How to Design an Editorial Workshop on AI and New Formats
The Clarín workshop was designed as an intensive working experience, but with a different approach from traditional newsroom training. The premise was clear from the start: AI shouldn’t be taught as a collection of tools, but as part of a broader editorial strategy. That’s why the focus was on rethinking existing workflows, experimenting with specific formats, and producing solutions that could be applied in daily practice.
To support this approach, participants were divided into two groups based on their editorial sections:
- Group 1: Breaking News, Politics, Economy, International, Society, and Sports
- Group 2: Culture, Entertainment, Celebrities, Viva, Ñ Magazine, and thematic verticals (such as Recipes/Gourmet [not the Gastronomy section], Wellbeing, Services, Technology, Cars, Family, Relationships, and Astrology)
This division wasn’t based on experience levels or editorial hierarchy. Instead, it was a strategic choice to allow each group to work on formats, tools, and challenges relevant to their own content universe. For instance, breaking news requires speed and constant updates, while sections like Culture or Entertainment tend to prioritize context and timelessness.
The workshop followed a three-phase structure:
- Conceptual Phase: focused on analyzing the architecture of new formats and modular storytelling
- Technical and Practical Phase: dedicated to prompt design and the responsible use of generative tools
- Prototyping Sprint: where teams developed and tested their own editorial solutions
One key takeaway was that grouping journalists from sections with similar dynamics made it easier to share tips and recurring challenges, speeding up the path toward useful solutions.
