Tech Reporters Are Using AI to Write and Edit Stories. Here's What They've Learned
Alex Heath, a technology reporter now publishing independently on Substack, speaks his story ideas into a microphone connected to Claude. The AI agent drafts his articles. He then spends 30 minutes revising with the system, and publishes. This workflow has cut his writing time by 30 to 40 percent.
Heath is one of several independent journalists using AI to recreate the editorial infrastructure they lost when leaving traditional newsrooms. Rather than replacing reporting, these writers say AI handles the drafting and editing work that once fell to human editors and fact-checkers.
How Heath Built His AI Workflow
Heath connected Claude to his Gmail, Google Calendar, transcription service, and note-taking app. He then built a detailed set of custom instructions-what he calls his "10 commandments" of writing-that includes past articles and notes on his voice and structure.
When Claude finishes a draft, Heath doesn't simply accept it. He goes back and forth with the AI, suggesting revisions. He still writes parts of the story himself. The result, he said, is that he spends more time reporting and less time staring at a blank page.
"I've always hated the zero-to-one process of writing a story," Heath said. "Now, it's actually kind of fun."
The Editor Model vs. the Writer Model
Not all independent journalists use AI to write. Jasmine Sun, who previously worked as a product manager at Substack, uses Claude only as an editor. She has instructed the AI to enhance her voice without writing sentences for her.
Sun gave Claude specific instructions: "You are not a co-writer. You cannot perceive-you don't have experiences, sources, scenes, or emotions to draw from." She told the AI its job was to help her become the best version of herself as a writer, not to replace her.
When Sun published an article in The Atlantic about how AI training makes models worse at writing, she received criticism for using AI at all. She pushed back. Most independent writers can't afford human editors, she said. By using Claude as a rigorous editor, she's made her process more demanding, not less.
"With a human editor, they're calling you on your bullshit," Sun said. "Claude is more willing to tell me this entire section is bad and you should cut it."
Rethinking What Readers Pay For
Casey Newton, author of the newsletter Platformer, sees a clear distinction. If readers pay for information, AI-written articles may not matter. If they pay for voice and analysis, using AI to write the whole thing is cheap.
Newton is shifting his approach. Instead of publishing AI-assisted news analysis, he's doing more original reporting-the work AI can't do. He has experimented with a Claude agent based on his own articles and found its feedback comparable to what human editors have given him.
Kevin Roose, a technology columnist at The New York Times, created a team of Claude agents to edit his book about AI. He built a "Master Editor" agent that oversees sub-agents handling fact-checking, style matching, and feedback. He still works with human editors too. And he still writes the book himself.
"I think the models tend to be fairly generic and depersonalized," Roose said. "But also, I like doing this."
What AI Can't Yet Do
Taylor Lorenz, author of User Mag, uses AI to generate SEO descriptions and sift through data. She does not use it to write or edit articles. She doesn't trust AI with sensitive reporting and doesn't find it useful for the craft itself.
"I am a journalist because I like to help people understand the world," Lorenz said. "I don't want the AI to do that."
A Google DeepMind study found that lazy use of AI makes writing more homogeneous. It becomes less creative, loses voice, and takes on a neutral stance. The journalists using AI most effectively-Heath, Sun, Newton, Roose-all treat it as a tool to handle mechanics, not judgment.
The real question isn't whether AI can write. It's what value a writer brings. If that value is reporting, speed, and access to information, AI can amplify it. If it's voice, analysis, and perspective, AI is still a support tool, not a replacement.
For independent writers, AI is filling a gap that traditional newsrooms once occupied. Whether it stays in that role depends on what readers actually want to pay for.
Learn more about AI for Writers and how professionals are integrating these tools into their workflows.
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