The Washington Post is aiming to bring on Substack and "nonprofessional writers" to its website but with one caveat: writer's submissions must first pass through an AI filter, or "editor," before reaching the eyes of the Post's editors for publication, four people familiar with the project told The New York Times on Tuesday.
The shakeup comes in an attempt to keep the paper afloat after suffering millions of dollars in losses for years.
"In a presentation to employees on Wednesday morning, Post publisher Will Lewis painted a stark picture of the Post's finances, revealing that the publication has lost $77 million over the last year and has been bleeding digital readers for several years," the Post reported in May 2024.
Amazon founder and owner Jeff Bezos, also the Post's owner, has been "struggling," according to the Times, to turn the paper around. The new approach will consist of opening the paper to opinion pieces sourced from independent writers or writers at newspapers across the country that "will appeal to readers who want more breadth than the Post's current opinion section and more quality than social platforms like Reddit and X," the Times noted.
But the writers will have to fulfill the whims of the Post's AI writing coach, Ember, which, according to The Times, will provide them with tools such as a "'story strength' tracker that tells writers how their piece is shaping up, with a sidebar that lays out basic parts of story structure: 'early thesis,' 'supporting points' and [a] 'memorable ending.'"
One of the Times sources said the AI tool would provide writing prompts for the authors to add "solid supporting points."
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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