Scaling Hyperlocal News Through AI Innovation – Jen Austin on High Velocity Radio

Jen Austin, founder of Riply Media, recently joined host Lee Kantor on an episode of High Velocity Radio to talk about how Riply’s technology is helping radio stations deliver timely, hyperlocal news without replacing the human connection that makes radio unique. Read on to learn how Riply streamlines news gathering, supports understaffed stations, and empowers broadcasters to stay relevant by combining the efficiency of technology with human editorial oversight. 

What is Riply Media?

It’s a radio problem with a technology solution. Riply is a platform used to provide local news and information to stations around the country. It could be hyperlocal news in Atlanta, community events, country music news, rock music news, anything a station needs.

We use AI to search the web, bring back relevant, hyperlocal information, and put it into a script for local news anchors to read. I’ve been an anchor for a long time and in radio for decades, and I realize how much time I spent just looking around for information. Trying to find content all the time is time-consuming, and this is a solution for that – it speeds up the whole process.

There are so many competing channels where people get information, entertainment, and news. Where does radio stand in that ecosystem?

Radio is the leader in personal connection. There are many outlets in media and entertainment, but really radio is that sort of theater of the mind too. When I talk to a listener, I imagine what they might be doing with their day, whether they’re at work, cleaning the garage, or cleaning the house, and I’ve got that connection with them, and they have a connection with me. It’s an organic relationship where you rely on hearing that person every day and connecting with that audience, and you don’t get this same experience from a playlist. A lot of people do rely on radio for information, especially local information too.

Listening in the car is still common, but people also listen on apps and the website, so it’s just a way to connect in addition to other forms of media going about your day. I love radio. I’ve been in it for so long, and it’s really important to me, so I want to help it along with Riply Media.

Can you explain some of the challenges a radio station has to execute on its mission of serving its local market?

When I started in radio in the 90s, there were people in the radio station 24/7. Now, it’s all been downsized, and a lot of stations are short-staffed but trying to do the same amount of work and reach the same amount of people. It’s a challenge to see staff shrink. Obviously, information can be outsourced, but there’s still the pressure in radio to create local information and to stay in touch with communities.

The people who are there, the one or two, maybe five people – some newsrooms are still staffed with 20 people, but smaller markets especially have fewer people there and experience the same pressure to write stories, create news, provide information to people, and connect locally. Riply was created to try to help them out with that.

How does Riply leverage AI?

Riply’s AI is finding local information and news, but not without human guidance. We’re telling it exactly where to go, exactly where to look, and exactly which types of stories we want it to look for. I live in Dallas-Fort Worth, which is a huge metroplex area. An example there might be: yes, look in Dallas, but also look in Fort Worth, Arlington, Frisco, and all the suburbs, and as a last resort, look at state news. These are essentially the parameters set up for any market. Then, it will decide which stories are the most important based on the parameters and guidelines we give it, and write the stories using our given rules and style guidelines. Each station is customizing its coverage area and writing, too. Some want more police blotter news, some want more community events, and this can all be customized.

Again, it’s human-led every step of the way. AI is doing the work, but it’s me and our staff of people who are holding its hand, so there’s no worry that it gets out of control.

Where does Riply get its information?

Riply’s AI technology uses a bunch of different sources. It could be a police station website, sheriff’s offices, TV stations – anything that is readily available and can be sourced, quoted, or cited. Every script Riply generates is stamped with the original source. It’s linked, credited, and shows exactly where it came from. Anything I would use as a human, as a source in a market, I’ve been doing it for years; this is doing the same thing and looking around the same places.

This sourcing used to take me an hour or so, and now Riply can do it in a matter of a minute or two. AI can just do it much faster, but we’re also looking at the sources and stories after the fact to make sure everything is as it should be. It was trained with humans, and we’re still putting human eyes on it. Human editors review the scripts, dates, and locations after it’s generated to make sure.

What was the aha moment for you?

As a radio personality and news anchor, when I first heard about AI, I thought, “Okay, don’t take my job.” Then, I realized this can be beneficial more than it is harmful. If I can figure out how to help it work for me, and yet I am holding its hand the entire way, then it can really be a time saver. Every industry, whether it’s medical or automotive or government, is using AI in some way, but we’re still at that point where we’re trying to figure out how to use it and how to make it work in the best possible way. I think everybody is figuring out that it’s not going to replace humans. It’s better when humans are involved and guiding it.

In radio, it can really help make us more efficient. We can move on to other creative tasks when it handles the more redundant tasks. This was the aha moment last fall when I realized it could be more beneficial than harmful in radio. Then, we got a dev team together and marketing and everything to form the company, Riply. 

Can you talk about your journey starting the business, how you got your initial users, and how you’ve been able to grow

An investor platform backs us, and so they really believe in it. They saw the light, and we teamed up to make it happen. During the development process, we knew we needed people to test this, help us point it in the right direction, and tell us if it’s on the right track. We came up with a pilot group of six stations, and they were really helpful. With all of their experience and mine combined, we were able to refine the search process and come up with the right broadcast writing styles. 

What has to change, if anything, in a station’s current systems to start using Riply?

Riply could be helpful to radio stations in any market, small, medium, or large, trying to find a different way to do things to remain efficient, on top of their game, and able to reach an audience. Really, nothing has to change to start using our services; it’s just an addition of the product to your current system. The station will decide if they want local news, local sports, rock music news, pop news – there are a lot of options they can customize at riplymedia.com. Once this is done, it takes about three to four days to let the system run and look at the scripts to make sure they are targeted, hyperlocal, and running exactly as they should. Then, we turn over the keys! Many customizations, of course, are necessary after that, and we’re happy to do it. We always appreciate feedback after this. But overall, it’s a pretty simple process.

It’s all laid out at riplymedia.com, and I can help customize packages if needed.

How does Riply impact a local station’s ability to generate more revenue?

I think the more local they are, and the more connected to the community they are, the more listeners they have, and therefore the more advertising revenue they can achieve. Advertisers come to them and want to put their commercials on the radio because they know people are listening with this good local connection. They can also sponsor the news itself. It could be “That’s news on B104,” or whatever the station’s call letters are, “Brought to you by Pepsi,” or “Brought to you by the car dealership.” So then they can add a sponsorship, and it’ll pay for the news.

Plus, other advertisers then come on because they’re connected to the community and that perception, which can be helpful. The more local and connected you are, the more valuable you are to the community and the more revenue you can achieve.

What would the ramifications be in a local station if they allow local news to disappear?

Without local news, the station becomes very generic. Anybody can get a playlist anywhere, as we know. There are a lot of streaming options besides radio for music, so people can get that anywhere. You have to have something different as a radio station – something unique, a connection where people recognize what you’re talking about on the morning show, and where you become a conversation piece in the community rather than another playlist.

If they do let local news atrophy and just let it go, then there’s nothing unique about them anymore that gives people reason to connect. I think local news is vital. I’m still in the radio industry now, and that’s one of the things I hear all the time. You guys have to be local. Anything you talk about on a national level, make it a local break. Tie it to something local so that it makes it important for people.

To hear the full conversation, tune into the full episode of High Velocity Radio today.  Learn more about Riply’s available packages and pricing at riplymedia.com .