FIR #494: Is News’s Future Error-Riddled AI-Generated Podcasts, or “Information Stewards”?

In the long-form episode for December 2025, Neville and Shel explore the future of news from two perspectives, including The Washington Post‘s ill-advised launch of a personalized, AI-generated podcast that failed to meet the newsroom’s standards for accuracy, and the shift from journalists to “information stewards” as news sources. Also in this episode: WPP founder Sir Martin Sorrell argued that PR is dead and advertising rules all.Is AI about to empty Madison AvenueShould communicators do anything about AI slop?No, you can’t tell when something was written by AIIn Dan York’s tech report: Mastodon’s founder steps back, and new leadership takes over; the UN reaffirms a model of Internet governance that involves everyone: and Dan talks about what he’ll be watching in 2026, including decentralized social media, agentic AI, and Internet technologies. Links from this episode: Sherilynne Starkie’s “Stark Raving Social” podcastNeville’s Strategic Magazine article: Your Value is Not Your TimesheetQuestions of accuracy arise as Washington Post uses AI to create personalized podcasts‘Iterate through’: Why The Washington Post launched an error-ridden AI productWashington Post Says It Will Continue AI-Generating Error Filled Podcasts as Its Own Editors Groan in EmbarrassmentThe Washington Post Deployed Its Disastrous AI-Generated Podcasts Even After Internal Tests Showed It Was Failing MiserablyWashington Post Stands Behind AI Podcast Plan Despite Staff OutcryWashington Post’s AI-generated podcasts rife with errors, fictional quotesRadio 4 Today segment featuring Martin Sorrell and Sarah WaddingtonMartin Sorrell: There’s No Such Thing as PR AnymoreMartin Sorrell: The PR Industry is Over-SensitiveChris Gilmour LinkedIn Post on Martin SorrellStephen Waddington’s Facebook Post on the Sorrell-Waddington segmentSir Martin Sorrell Declares PR is Dead. PR Pros RespondThe Future of News is Happening Where No One is LookingThis is Local News NowSocial Media and News Fact SheetThe State of Local NewsAI is About to Empty Madison AvenueAI Slop: How Every Media Revolution Breeds Rubbish and ArtMerriam-Webster’s word of the year delivers a dismissive verdict on junk AI contentPinterest Users Are Tired of All the AI SlopThe Impact of Visual Generative AI on Advertising EffectivenessNo, You Can’t Tell When Something Was Written by AIHow Can You Tell if AI Wrote Something?Wikipedia: Signs of AI WritingDetecting AI-written text is challenging, even for AI. Here’s whyFIR Interview: AI and the Writing Profession, with Josh BernoffFIR #464: Research Finds Disclosing Use of AI Erodes TrustNeville’s Blog: When AI Lets Go of the Em Dash Links from Dan York’s Tech Report: Eugen Rochko on Mastodon’s blog: My Next Chapter with MastodonMastodon Blog: The Future is Ours to BuildTim Chambers: My Open Social Web PredictionsInternet Society: WSIS 20 Reaffirms Multistakeholder Governance and a Lasting IGFWikimedia Foundation: In the AI Era, Wikipedia Has Never Been More ValuableLandslide: A Ghost Story The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, January 26. We host a Communicators Zoom Chat most Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. To obtain the credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request them in our Facebook group, or email [e-mail]. Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music. You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are Shel’s and Neville’s and do not reflect the views of their employers and/or clients. Raw Transcript: Neville Hobson Hi everyone, and welcome to the For Immediate Release long-form episode for December 2025. I’m Neville Hobson. Shel Holtz And I’m Shel Holtz. Neville Hobson And we have six great stories to discuss and share with you that we hope you’ll enjoy listening to during Twixtmas. What is that, you may ask? Well, Twixtmas is the informal name for the relaxed period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, typically focusing on the 27th to the 30th of December. It’s a time for winding down, enjoying leftovers, watching TV, listening to podcasts, and simply existing without the usual hustle of holidays or work before the new year starts. The name comes from blending Twixt, an old English word for “between,” and Christmas. It’s a modern term for a timeless lull in the calendar, often called the “festive gap.” That’s probably more information than you wanted, but now you know what it means. So, without further ado, let’s begin the Twixtmas episode with a recap of previous shows since the November long-form one. Shel Holtz We’ll have to start using that over here. Recent Episodes & Listener Comments Neville Hobson That was FIR 489, published on the 17th of November. The story we led with in amplifying...