Create a set of 6 copy-paste AI prompts for a working journalist. Cover: reporting-plan creation, interview preparation, document analysis, source-background briefing, a fact-check ledger, and a pre-publication edit. Beat and publication context: [BEAT AND OUTLET] Story assignment: [STORY ASSIGNMENT] Material already gathered: [REPORTING MATERIAL]
Editorial standards: [EDITORIAL STANDARDS] Deadline and format: [DEADLINE AND FORMAT] For each prompt, provide a title, the exact ready-to-use prompt, and one sentence explaining when to use it. Each prompt must instruct the model to distinguish verified facts, attributed claims, allegations, inference, and unknowns. It must never fabricate a source, quote, document, statistic, date, or citation. For interview preparation, create open questions plus likely evasions and follow-ups, not a presumed narrative. For document analysis, quote short passages only when supplied and attach each finding to a page, section, or filename where possible. For edits, preserve meaning and flag assertions needing reporting rather than silently strengthening them. Keep each prompt 90-145 words and make its requested output concrete: a table, checklist, question bank, or annotated draft. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if an essential input is missing. Before answering, check that every prompt includes a verification step and does not treat AI output as publishable reporting.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [BEAT AND OUTLET] | Describe your beat, publication audience, geographic focus, and house style. | Local government reporter for a regional digital newsroom serving central Ohio; AP style. |
| [STORY ASSIGNMENT] | Paste the assigned angle, central question, and any confirmed news peg. | Explain why Columbus bus-stop upgrades are behind schedule and what the delay means for riders. |
| [REPORTING MATERIAL] | List or paste your notes, documents, data, confirmed sources, and open gaps. | City council agenda, transit agency dashboard, two rider interviews, and an emailed statement from the agency; no contractor interview yet. |
| [EDITORIAL STANDARDS] | State your rules for attribution, anonymous sources, links, corrections, and legal review. | Attribute all disputed claims; identify anonymous sources by reason and proximity; send legal-risk claims to an editor. |
| [DEADLINE AND FORMAT] | Give the filing deadline, target length, and expected story form. | File by 4 p.m. Thursday; 900-word explanatory news story with links to public records. |
How to use
- Paste the core prompt with your assignment and only materials you are allowed to process.
- Select the generated prompt that fits the reporting stage, then add the relevant notes or document text.
- Confirm every date, quotation, number, and source attribution against your original reporting.
- Follow up with: “Turn the fact-check ledger into a line-by-line pre-publication checklist for this 900-word draft.”
Variations
Interview questions
Use before an accountability interview.
Prepare an interview question bank for [PERSON AND ROLE] about [SUBJECT]. Based only on [VERIFIED BACKGROUND], produce 12 open questions grouped by topic, 6 precise follow-ups for likely nonanswers, and a short list of records or facts to verify independently. Do not assume wrongdoing or write claims as facts. Mark every premise that needs sourcing. Ask up to 3 questions only if a necessary reporting detail is absent.
Records review
Use after receiving a long public-records release.
Analyze [DOCUMENT SET] for a story about [REPORTING QUESTION]. Produce a findings table with claim, exact supporting location, date, named entity, confidence, and verification needed. Then list contradictions, missing records, and five reporting questions. Do not infer motives, add data, or treat a summary as confirmation. Quote only text contained in the document set. Ask up to 3 questions only if document scope is unclear.
Copy edit
Use for an accuracy-focused draft review.
Edit [DRAFT] for [OUTLET STYLE]. Return an annotated table with original language, proposed change, reason, and verification flag. Preserve reporting and attribution; do not add facts, quotations, or context not in the draft. Flag ambiguous chronology, unsupported superlatives, legal-risk assertions, unnamed-source issues, and claims that need a link or document. Then provide a clean draft. Ask up to 3 questions only if a style rule is required.
Tips
- Use a fact-check ledger before drafting: record each assertion, source, exact support, and whether it is independently confirmed.
- Give document-analysis prompts page or section markers so you can return to the primary record quickly.
- Ask for questions that test your working theory, including questions likely to undermine it.
- Do not publish AI-generated quotations, citations, or summaries without checking the original material.
FAQ
Can AI replace reporting research?
No. It can organize your work and surface questions, but sourcing, verification, context, and fairness remain reporting tasks.
Can I upload confidential source material?
Only if your newsroom’s policy, source agreement, and the tool’s data controls permit it. Remove sensitive material when possible.
How can AI help with a long transcript?
Ask it to produce a timestamped topic index and a list of passages to verify, then listen or read those passages yourself.