Journalism for the Web Portfolio

In this podcast I speak with Wisconsin residents who plan to vote in the 2025 Supreme Court election about their thoughts on the candidates and their policies.

On February 10th and 11th, 2025, political leaders from around the world gathered in Paris, France to discuss the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit. This summit analyzed how AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in modern society, and how it should be handled going forward. The summit proposed regulations on AI that ensure it remains ethical and sustainable and was approved by around 60 countries. However, the United States and the United Kingdom refused to sign the declaration. 

Because AI is becoming so big in current times, it is important to look at how these regulatory rules could affect the daily users of AI. Some of AI’s most dedicated users are college students. Students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater have a lot on their plates, and AI helps many lighten their workload. It is becoming increasingly common to hear about AI in the college classroom. Oftentimes professors will have AI in their syllabus, stating their opinions on how AI should be used in the classroom and their expectations for student AI usage. AI is becoming so widespread on campus that courses teaching students how to utilize AI efficiently are starting to be introduced to Whitewater students. 

With AI expanding so quickly, there are many different opinions on how AI should be used. Just like the US and UK’s hesitancy to regulate it, many Whitewater students hold the belief that AI should not be regulated. However, there are also many students who use AI, but think that it should be regulated for the better of the future of AI. 

“I mostly use [AI] to look for synonyms or get a summary of a certain topic,” said Laura Wright, a student studying environmental science at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. “I don’t think [AI is] a horrible thing in general, it does have its uses, but it should have a sort of limit.” Wright holds the opinion, like many, that AI should have regulations to keep it in control. Innovative technologies are always intimidating due to the uncertainties they present, and those who are hesitant to this new technology would feel more comfortable if it were regulated. 

“I use AI mostly to help me clean up some of my writing… I feel like the regulations on it that we have now are just fine,” stated Reese French, an elementary education major at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. French is not alone in her belief that AI should be left untouched. Sam Roffers, an accounting student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, voiced his opinion on AI regulation. “I mainly use AI for when I am stuck on a math problem, and I want to see if it can explain it to me in a way that I can understand… I don’t think [AI] should be highly regulated because that’s how we make breakthroughs,” Roffers said.  

Like French and Roffers, a large amount of university students express the concern that too much regulation and pressure on AI can cause its demise by not allowing it to achieve its full potential. It is a difficult debate on whether to regulate or not, and there are valid points for each side of said argument. 

Though the future of AI is uncertain, there are clear opinions about the regulation of AI. Even on a small campus such as Whitewater, students have varying opinions as to how AI should be regulated in the future. 

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In the past, a journalist was by definition a person who was hired by a news outlet, went out, conducted research and interviews, and produced news. However, in modern times with social media allowing anybody to have a platform and put news out there, the definition of a journalist has changed. A journalist can now be anyone, being that anybody can put news out for everybody to see. For example, I could begin a news account for free on Instagram and start putting out whatever news I see fit. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I will have as much success as a traditional journalist at a big news company, or even that what I am saying is true, but I will be a “journalist” nonetheless.

As stated in our textbook, the news cycle has changed from one cycle per day to the modern 24/7 news cycle. Because of the internet, journalists are able to release news stories anytime and anywhere. These stories can then be updated within minutes, making news more relevant and accessible for many. For example, you will often see “this is a developing story” at the bottom of an online news article. Because of the internet, journalists are able to constantly update news stories. On top of this, the internet allows for a larger variety of content to be put out for a single news story. When it was just newspapers or just radio, for example, you could only consume one or two types of news content. For the case of a newspaper, you would only receive text and photos. For radio you would only hear audio news reports. Now with the internet, journalists can publish a story with text, audio, photos, videos, ect. This enriches the experience for the consumer, and is more convenient being that everything is in one place.

There are many different ways to consume news. You can read a physical newspaper, listen to podcasts, watch the news, and many other options. Overall, I consume most of my news through social media that leads to news websites. I follow news accounts that inform me of current events. I like using social media to get my news because social media gives the general synopsis of a story and then it leads to the news website with the full story. It is easier to pick out what I am interested in based on first impressions and then read further into the stories I am most interested in. 

I typically do not go straight to a news website because I often start on social media, but if I am finding stories for a class I will often go to Google and visit NBC News or Associated Press News. When consuming news through a website, I try to use a site that is as unbiased as possible so I can build a well-rounded opinion. If I see things on a news site that only reinforces my opinion I am not able to build different perspectives. While it does frustrate me to read stories that don’t align with my morals or ideas, I think it benefits me to learn everybody’s point of view. I find that Associated Press news has a relatively neutral voice, however it is hard to find news that is truly unbiased.

Some people consume their news by using AI. AI is becoming increasingly popular, with more options coming to light and technology improving substantially. In my opinion, AI is a good resource for everyday questions to make life a little simpler. However, I am hesitant to use AI in a situation where I am searching for news, as well as in any academic setting. AI is still a new technology that has not yet reached a standard of accuracy that I trust.

I consume news in many different ways, most commonly on social media and news websites. I am least likely to read physical newspapers unless it is The Royal Purple, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s student run newspaper. I also don’t often listen to audio reports because I prefer to have something in front of me online, whether it’s a series of photos to increase my understanding or a written report to keep me focused. I am a visual learner and find it helpful to consume news through videos and photos.

Admittedly, I am more of a silent consumer of news. I have never interacted with news sites besides reading the stories. Even on social media, I do not comment on the posts that summarize the story. As I mentioned before, social media plays a large role in my consumption of media. Our social media is a reflection of our opinions and beliefs because it caters to us and creates an algorithm that recommends certain content to us. It reinstates my opinions, but can be untruthful and biased. I do find a lot of my news through social media, but I always make sure to fact check what I’m reading.

In order to get accurate news, I try to make sure to use a news website that is trusted and legitimate. The most important thing when consuming news is ensuring that you are reading accurate and ethically written stories. This is harder with social media because anybody can post any information they want on social media, whereas on a news site you need to be employed with that company to publish anything. There have been instances where I was reading a news post on social media, thinking it was truthful, but ended up discovering that the story was fake by reading comments and other news stories.