How Connecticut Public Uses AI to Surface Stories Hidden in Public Meetings

Artificial intelligence is creating new possibilities for local newsrooms — including finding stories that they might not otherwise know about.

In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton sits down with Jim Haddadin, investigative editor at Connecticut Public, and Susan Bell, senior director of data and digital services, to discuss the organization's award-winning Public Meeting Monitor.

The AI-powered system analyzes government meetings, identifies potentially newsworthy developments, and helps reporters uncover stories happening across communities throughout Connecticut.

The conversation also explores Curio, Connecticut Public's audience-support chatbot, along with broader lessons about newsroom adoption, transparency, audience trust, and the future of AI in local journalism.

Topics discussed:

Why Connecticut Public built the Public Meeting MonitorHow AI reviews and summarizes public meetingsThe role of human journalists in the reporting processStories that originated from AI-generated news tipsBuilding audience-service tools with AILessons for local news organizations exploring AIWhere newsroom innovation is headed next

Guests:

Jim Haddadin, Investigative Editor, Connecticut Public

Susan Bell, Senior Director of Data and Digital Services, Connecticut Public

Hosted by Ryan Welton for Local Media Association's Keep It Local podcast.