Morgan State University Journalism Students to Leverage AI Technology to Advance Traditional Sports Reporting

Courtesy of Morgan State University

Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication (SGJC), one of only two Maryland-based Universities with an internationally accredited journalism school, aims to revolutionize and advance traditional sports reporting utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). The new research and development effort, which comes by way of a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between SGJC’s Center for the Study of Race and Culture in Sports and the University’s Center for Equitable AI and Machine Learning Systems (CEAMLS) and external collaborator JRSportBrief Productions, will use AI to develop post-game sports content including automated box scores and video news reports.

The project will be overseen and led by SGJC Professor of Practice Edward Robinson III, who also directs the Center for the Study of Race and Culture in Sports, and Ganiyu-Adewumi, a graduate student mentor.

“We are looking forward to beginning our work with CEAMLS and JRSportsBrief Productions on this groundbreaking project,” said Robinson. “This collaboration not only underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and excellence in our students but also highlights the potential of AI to transform the sports media landscape.”

Students from the Center and CEAMLS will work with JRSportsBrief Production’s SportBrief AI Solutions to generate comprehensive pre- and postgame wrap-ups in audio and video formats and test their work. The effort will begin as a component of CEAMLS’s Summer AI Research Institute. Students working on the 10-week project will produce a literature review and a prototype of the AI tool, integrating computer technology and sports journalism standards and ethics.

“This represents an exciting opportunity to combine academics with real-life industry expertise in a fast-moving space like AI,” said J.R. Jackson, founder of JRSportBrief Productions. “By joining forces with Morgan State University, we aim to empower the next generation of AI innovators while delivering unparalleled sports coverage to our audience.”

The completed project will provide sports fans with an innovative way to digest content.

Morgan’s School of Global Journalism and Communication created the Center for the Study of Race and Culture in Sports in 2017. In addition to research projects in various aspects of sports, the Center provides specific training for students interested in sports journalism, sports production, and sports strategic communication and prepares them to operate as professionals equipped with the requisite reporting, writing, and multimedia skills to immediately enter the workforce and compete. Fully accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), SGJC is dedicated to giving voice to people who struggle to contribute to the public discourse that shapes the nation and the world through innovative teaching, cutting-edge research and exemplary service to Maryland, the nation and the world.