Journatic

Journatic, which uses algorithms to report community news, reeled last year when it was hit with charges of plagiarism and quote fabrication and was found to have published some stories using aliases. But the company has since clawed its way through a thorough ethics investigation and back toward the goal co-founder and CEO Brian Timpone set out more than a year ago: gathering community news and helping publishers save millions of dollars. “We spent the last year investing in our technology and our systems, and that gives up an inherent advantage over anyone trying to do community news,” Timpone says.

Mike Fourcher, the head of editorial for the Chicago-based Journatic news service, announced his resignation Saturday, following revelations from a Chicago Tribune investigation the day before that one of the group’s freelance reporters had plagiarized material and fabricated quotes for a story that appeared in TribLocal.

A national radio report this weekend revealing that hyperlocal content provider Journatic used false bylines in several stories that ran in TribLocal online has prompted an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. Journatic, brought in to run part of the Tribune’s community news operation, has acknowledged its mistake and said it would discontinue the practice.

Last month the Chicago Tribune caused a stir by announcing that it would outsource its TribLocal network to content provider Journatic. The announcement stirred up worries of robotic journalism and content farms. In an exclusive interview with NetNewsCheck, Journatic CEO Brian Timpone explains how his company’s process of using algorithms and overseas workers to help gather community news can save publishers millions of dollars by better allocating their newsroom resources.

Last month the Chicago Tribune caused a stir by announcing that it would outsource its TribLocal network to content provider Journatic. The announcement stirred up worries of robotic journalism and content farms. In an exclusive interview with NetNewsCheck, Journatic CEO Brian Timpone explains how his company’s process of using algorithms and overseas workers to help gather community news can save publishers millions of dollars by better allocating their newsroom resources.