Navigating relentless digital change | Help Desk Monthly
Share this story:
This article is based on issue No. 1 of Help Desk Monthly that was sent to email subscribers on Dec. 16, 2025. If you’d like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, click here.
When I reflect on my journalism career, change has been a constant. I entered the field in 2012, so the tumult has always been closely tied to digital.
I remember when newspapers began stepping away from printing daily, when social media was seen more as a news coverage tool than a way to engage with audiences, and when organizations — that could afford to — started investing more in digital experiences.
Keeping up with new platforms, shifting audience behaviors and emerging technologies felt like a full-time job on its own. And there was news happening the whole time.
For journalism, this constant evolution presents persistent challenges and opportunities. So I always wished for a singular place to go that could help me keep up: A resource for journalists always filled with fresh ideas, tools and strategies aimed at sustainability.
Now, it makes me incredibly proud to say we’ve built that resource.
News Media Help Desk is brand new, having just launched last week, and it will continue to grow to meet the needs of news organizations.
Our goal is to help you build a strong and sustainable future for your news organization by providing helpful and industry-focused content that are necessary for growing or sustaining a news organization. And, if you ever find yourself in need of hands-on help, our Digital On-Demand Services team can connect you to vetted experts who can take on work at an affordable rate so you can concentrate on what you do best — delivering quality journalism to your community.
In this month’s newsletter, all the articles we highlight are from our launch. But they are just the beginning of the Help Desk’s Learning Center resources. We want you to:
💡 find new inspiration and ideas from our case studies;
🧰 pick tools that align with your needs faster with our Scorecard database;
🙌 wrap your head around new tech and strategies with our expert pieces;
🔍 and point you to other links, like toolkits and new research, that are worth your time.
So keep checking back with us. And if you have a story for us to look into, or an amazing tool you think more news organizations should know about, pitch us an idea.
Sincerely,
Leah Becerra, Product Director at News Media Help Desk
Now, some inspiration
How Blue Ridge Public Radio used Pinpoint to turn a motel mystery into an award-winning investigation
Pinpoint, Google’s free document analysis tool, became the backbone of BPR’s workflow, turning a flood of emails, contracts and court filings into a searchable, shareable archive. The resulting series, “‘Secret Sauce Expired’: The Ramada Inn Conversion for Asheville’s Unhoused,” won an Edward R. Murrow Award and helped shape policy decisions across North Carolina.Why The Salt Lake Tribune chose Chartbeat: Affordable real-time analytics that help journalists
Rather than guessing what resonates with readers, Chartbeat provides real-time analytics that can help journalists understand their audience and make decisions.The newsroom-built AI transcription tool that protects your sources
Built by journalists, for journalists, Good Tape is an AI-based tool that can save reporters time while maintaining strict security standards and a low cost.Nota: The journalism-trained AI tool helping small outlets expand capacity
Nota offers newsroom-specific AI help for headlines, content summarization and social media. Take a look at how it’s helping The Current.How KOMU used Social News Desk to break news, monitor community activity
Managing several social media accounts with Social News Desk can lead to a huge time-savings for audience journalists, marketers and analytics managers.How Fundraise Up helps Outlier Media understand and convert their donors
How Outlier Media parsed through the fundraising platform options and why the staff is happy with choosing Fundraise Up.Other resources
How Signal, WhatsApp, Apple and Google handle encrypted chat backups
Encrypted chat apps help keep digital conversations as private as possible. However, those chat backups may have different standards, affecting your overall level of security.How to build an AI toolkit for your newsroom
As AI tools become more common and accessible, newsrooms are integrating them into their preexisting workflows. Epicenter NYC is working to find the most practical process for doing so.We heard you’re thinking about AI. These guides are worth your time.
A “Trust Kit” on using AI in your newsroom by Trusting News
How can journalists be transparent about their use of AI in a way that doesn’t lose — and maybe even builds — audience trust? Trusting News recommends journalists take these steps. (See the guide here 🔗)
AI Ethics Starter Kit by Poynter Institute
Updated for 2025, the this resource helps news organizations create clear and responsible AI ethics policies. The kit covers AI in visual journalism and product, as well as a public-facing statement about the newsroom’s policy. (See the guide here 🔗)
LLM journalism tool advisor by Joe Amditis
Having trouble selecting the right LLM to work with? This interactive tool will help you decide which model is the best fit based on the task. (Check it out here 🔗)
Newsrooms must prepare for AI by getting their first-party data right by Ariel Zirulnick
AI can’t help your newsroom if your first-party data is a mess. (Read it here 🔗)
Looking ahead 👀
We’re looking into paywalls, content management systems and applications that help create compelling visuals for off-platform audience engagement.
Let us know if there’s a tool you love that we should look into or if your newsroom would be a good case study for a tool or strategy that’s working. Use our content idea pitch form or send us an email.
Until next time, catch us on these social channels:
Share this story:
