Chicago Newspapers Join Fight Against AI’s Theft of Local News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The front page of Inside Publications' Skyline newspaper leads with Publisher Ron Roenigk's article decrying AI theft of local news content.CHICAGO — Inside Publications and its three print newspapers distributed on Chicago’s North Side have joined the fight against “artificial intelligence” (or “AI”) service developers and operators who have stolen content and expertise from local news sources.

In the article “Why this newspaper may be killed off,” Publisher Ron Roenigk shared with readers how unauthorized AI use of content destroys journalism businesses and livelihoods while making others wealthy.

“It’s no longer a future threat,” Roenigk wrote. “These things are happening right now.”

The Large Language Models — or “LLMs” — that power contemporary AI interfaces are all seemingly built on stolen content, Roenigk noted. And the companies running this technology are not only launching their own competing products based on stolen content, they’re selling the ability to do this to others, too.

This means a newspaper’s own labor and content is being used against it by competitors, while the local news source gets nothing, Roenigk said. “We are all victims of larcenous AI and the people behind it.”

The print article decrying AI theft of local news appeared in the May 31, 2023, editions of the Skyline, Inside-Booster and News-Star print newspapers, which are newspapers of record distributed across Chicago’s North Side lakeshore neighborhoods from the Loop to the city’s north border.

The article references and calls to a May 24, 2023, Letter from the Editor titled “Why I’ll Quit Publishing the McKinley Park News,” authored by McKinley Park News Publisher Justin Kerr.

In it, Kerr calls for other news publishers to join together, and for journalism associations, institutions and others to place a moratorium on AI built on content and expertise stolen from others.

“We are extremely grateful for the support of Inside Publications in this fight against those who are stealing from and destroying our local news businesses,” Kerr said.

The Illinois Press Association noted its concern about unauthorized AI use of content in a statement from President and CEO Don Craven.

“The press association will continue to work with newspapers across the state to put them in the best position possible to protect their editorial content and to protect their copyright interests,” Craven said.

“Community newspapers represent the heart and soul of communities,” he said. “An algorithm will never be able to capture that understanding.”

“This is a greed-powered, unsustainable, technology industry gold rush that cares nothing for local news,” Kerr said. “It will result in the full elimination of the already-distressed local news industry.”

“It is literally an existential threat to media across the globe,” Roenigk wrote. “If AI is allowed to steal from us, AI will destroy us, including things we value and rely upon like local news.”

Both Inside Publications and the McKinley Park News are members of the Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA), a coalition of nearly 60 independent media outlets in the Chicago area.

“The Illinois Press Association applauds the McKinley Park News and Inside Publications in their efforts to protect their newspapers, their editorial content and their connections to communities from the challenges presented by AI,” Craven said.

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Contact:
Justin Kerr
justinkerr@mckinleypark.news
(312) 560-1115
P.O. Box 9136
Chicago, IL 60609

About Inside Publications
Inside Publications is the last family owned and operated newspaper publisher serving the North Side communities of Chicago through its Skyline, Inside-Booster and News-Star print newspapers, which provide free weekly editions as the newspaper of record. More information is available on its website at https://www.insideonline.com

About the McKinley Park News
The McKinley Park News is a micro-local online publication covering Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood from its website at https://mckinleypark.news. Its features include original news reporting, a comprehensive calendar of neighborhood events and an interactive membership and subscription system.

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