By: Cameron Pellegrino '27
The UMass Journalism Department is introducing two new classes for the Spring 2026 semester: AI and the News (JOURNAL 390A) and The Visual Newsroom (JOURNAL 490V). The first will be taught by department chair and associate professor Rodrigo Zamith, while the latter will be taught by senior lecturer Brian McDermott.
AI and the News will focus on how artificial intelligence is transforming the way news is produced, distributed and viewed. The class will examine how algorithms influence the news people see, how they engage with their communities and how power is distributed in society. Coursework will include readings, case studies and discussions. The course will also address the future of the industry in a world where AI can produce news stories.
“We’re going to talk about how AI impacts journalism education: how are we supposed to be teaching journalism in this day and age when we can use large language models to produce inverted pyramid stories?” Zamith said. “We’re going to be engaging with a lot of different topics that borrow from different disciplines, like psychology, sociology, science and technology studies. We’re going to apply all of those to this object of news and journalism.”
Zamith is currently working on a book about the very topics of the class, making it an opportune time to launch the class. He’s most excited to have his ideas challenged by students and use the course to strengthen the claims of his book. This will provide a unique opportunity for him to learn from students in the same way they learn from his teachings.
“At the end of the semester, I really want students to be reflecting on what I think is a critical question: what are the incentive structures that are promoting the development of AI and how it is being implemented within news organizations?” Zamith said. “How can we reconfigure those incentive structures to serve the purpose of journalism, which is to tell the truth in an independent manner and to ensure that audiences are well informed about the world around them?”
The four-credit class is open to students from any major and its first iteration will meet in ILC room S211 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4-5:15 p.m. There are no prerequisites required to take this course and it is not limited to journalism majors.
The Visual Newsroom, as the name suggests, will be a class centered around visual journalism. The main goal of the course is for students to report on impactful stories within the community in partnership with local, campus and social media. They will be given the freedom to diversify their skills across all facets of multimedia storytelling.
“Our focus will be producing publishable visual work in campus & local media,” McDermott said. “Depending on their interests and what fits the story best, students can work with still photography, video, design or social media storytelling any given week.”
In-class work will involve weekly assignments and collaborative in-class brainstorming sessions. There will also be readings, regular discussion of current events and issues, as well as visual critique sessions. The Visual Newsroom will be a hands-on class designed to teach students the necessary visual skills through practical experience.
“Working with students who are excited about a story idea and excited when a piece gets published is always fun!” McDermott said. “My hope is students will leave this class with a stronger portfolio. The premise of this class is simple: the best way to get better at video, photography and design is to go out and do the work!”
In order to take the class, students must have previously taken JOURNAL 333, or Introduction to Visual Storytelling. The four-credit class counts as a multimedia course for journalism majors in both the general track and sports concentration. The class will also meet on Mondays and Wednesdays, just before AI and the News, from 2:30-3:45 p.m.