OpenAI is launching a major initiative to support journalism with tools, training, and partnerships for students, educators, journalists, and news organizations. It begins with the next generation of reporters at CUNY’s Newmark J-School and Northwestern University’s Medill School. For the 2026–2027 academic year, OpenAI is collaborating with the Tow-Knight Center and Medill's Knight Lab, providing more than 400 ChatGPT Edu subscriptions to graduate students and faculty.

Journalism students are entering one of the most dynamic moments in news industry history. AI helps reporters analyze public records, translate stories, uncover patterns, search archives, and improve reader experiences. For journalism schools, this creates an opportunity: students should graduate understanding AI’s impact and using it thoughtfully, creatively, ethically, and responsibly.

Gina Chua, Executive Director of the Tow-Knight Center, stated, “Generative AI is a transformative technology that will remake the information landscape.” Jeremy Gilbert, Medill Professor and Knight Chair, emphasized “equity of access” for using the latest AI tools. Tom Rubin, Chief of Intellectual Property and Content at OpenAI, noted the partnership’s goal to help journalists keep human expertise front and center.

The Tow-Knight Center and Knight Lab are the first partners, with additional efforts underway to expand support across journalism education.