Bob Smith says Carbajal 'invisible' - Santa Barbara News-Press

Good morning, Santa Barbara ☀️

Here’s what we have for you today:

Congressional candidate Bob Smith changes his party registration from Republican to Independent in a battle to unseat Salud Carbajal. He talks to News-Press editor Joshua Molina on the Santa Barbara Talks podcast.
News-Press reporter Sofia Wallace gets an invite to the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee’s “Cosmopolitics” event and interviews State Treasurer Fiona Ma.
Highway 101 in the Montecito construction zone will be ready for possible impacts from the predicted El Niño thunderstorms, reports News-Press reporter Tom Schultz.
The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce and the Police Officers Association make their endorsements for seats across Santa Barbara County.

We still need journalists

I have spent a lot of time lately shining a light on elected officials who are running for various campaign seats. Holding government officials accountable is an essential responsibility of the press.

I’d like to take a quick break from that and focus attention on our collective press and the roles we play in the community, amid growing threats from multiple directions.

Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence lately. I have endured people twisting themselves into pretzels explaining why AI is good and benefits our society. AI is helpful for researching online databases (although you still need to verify the info). It’s awesome for learning how to do things or put things together. And no doubt, like the Internet itself, it’s an ocean of information, not to mention a lot of fun to dig into.

I don’t know everything about AI’s potential, but I know this much. AI cannot replace journalists.

McClatchy last week announced a giant wave of journalism layoffs. More than 90 journalists were laid off at The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and The Kansas City Star. According to the Poynter Institute, McClatchy developed an AI tool that could generate articles based on reporters’ work.

As an editor and teacher, I know the strengths and weaknesses of writers. I know the art that a human being brings to their craft. I can tell so much about a person based on their writing, their pace, the length of their sentences and paragraphs and the structure of their sentences say a lot about who they are as human beings. Writing is a window into the soul and it says as much about the writer as it does about the subjects they report on.

A writer’s traits are unique to human beings. AI might write perfect sentences, but I don’t want perfection in writing; I want art and authenticity. AI might write a perfectly grammatical sentence, but it can’t create the heart and substance that a reporter brings to a story. There is no X-factor in AI, but I see that X-factor in people every day.

It’s unfortunate that so many industries have embraced AI as a way to “enhance their writing.” Public relations and marketing professionals use AI. I continue to see online ads and memes supporting political candidates that are generated by AI. Even candidates use AI on their websites. I got news for you; it all looks terrible and inauthentic.

If it’s not AI, it’s President Trump, who criticizes journalists he disagrees with, and even tries to revoke their press access. He has continually attempted to erode the power of the press and diminish its credibility by calling some articles “fake news.”

Whether it’s AI or government censorship, journalists are in a battle for their lives. What we do is art, not science. We talk to people, we research documents, we observe, we put it all together to create something unique to our reporting and writing experience. It’s these human being traits that are able to snoop around to find a story, to trust their guts when chasing down a tip, and spin a vibrant yarn using words unique to the reporter’s vocabulary.

Take a moment to appreciate the work that journalists do and remember that AI cannot duplicate the fire that burns in a journalist’s belly when they are hot on a story. Journalism is art and can only be created by human beings, not machines.

Joshua Molina

News-Press Editor

Stories you should know about

Gov. Gavin Newsom stops a bill that would have allowed undocumented students to work on university campuses. (Los Angeles Times)

The Democrats’ influencer era has arrived. But the party hasn’t figured out the rules of engagement. (Politico)

Ed Sheeran says the situation in Gaza is “catastrophic and unjustifiable” as he opens concert. (Associated Press)

White House strips CNN of TV pool assignment as Trump’s press ban escalates. (CNN)

25 years ago today

The best crime and cops reporter I have ever worked with, Dawn Hobbs, had a story 25 years ago today about how the Santa Barbara Police Department’s Citizens Advisory Group was taking on issues such as homelessness, lighting and pedestrian safety in neighborhoods.

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