Journalist Nick Lichtenberg distinguished himself at Fortune by achieving a level of productivity that far surpassed that of his peers. Within a mere six-month span, he managed to produce a larger number of stories than any of his colleagues typically completed over the course of an entire year. His output was so prolific that on a single Wednesday in February—a day that might blend into the ordinary for most reporters—Lichtenberg managed to finalize and publish seven distinct pieces. This remarkable level of output led him to describe himself, with a blend of humor and self-awareness, as “a bit of a freak,” acknowledging the unusual intensity of his work ethic and process.
Unlike many traditional journalists, who devote substantial time to developing trust-based relationships with sources, conducting phone interviews, and verifying insights through painstaking investigation, Lichtenberg has adopted a distinctly modern approach. When significant news breaks, rather than relying solely on the conventional methods of shoe-leather reporting, he frequently turns to advanced artificial intelligence tools as his first line of production. His typical process involves uploading official press releases, analyst notes, or other factual documents directly into AI-driven writing systems. He then uses carefully crafted prompts to instruct these programs to generate structured article drafts—compositions that he personally reviews, edits, and refines before publication. This practice enables him to move from raw information to a polished, publishable story with extraordinary speed, granting him a significant advantage in the perpetual race for digital timeliness.
Lichtenberg’s method, while undeniably efficient, resides in a controversial space within the journalistic community—what some have called the profession’s “third rail.” This term captures the sense of risk and taboo associated with allowing artificial intelligence not merely to assist in background research or data preparation, but to take an active, leading role in the writing process itself. For many observers, his workflow embodies journalism’s ongoing confrontation with the disruptive potential of technology: a tension between tradition and innovation, between human authorship and machine-generated text. Yet, for Lichtenberg, the balance seems to rest not on fear of automation but on the pragmatic belief that AI can be a powerful accelerator of his creative and editorial capabilities, allowing him to keep pace with a news cycle that moves faster than ever before.
Sourse: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/an-ai-upheaval-is-coming-for-media-this-journalist-is-already-all-in-3511d951?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f
