10 digital tools that will make technology your ally

In an ever-changing world, time is the most crucial resource for journalists – and saving time on the more mundane tasks means more space for good practices like making your reporting more constructive.

The growing digitalisation and the rise of AI offer an unprecedented opportunity to simplify and accelerate your workflow on a daily basis. Here’s a list of 10 tools that will help you work more efficiently this year. 

Speech to text 

1. Good Tape

Launched by Danish Zetland, Good Tape was developed for journalists, by journalists. This secure transcription service allows you to transcribe interview tapes automatically: After you upload the audio file, AI automatically transcribes it into text, regardless of sound quality or language and sends it to your email. 

Pros:

• Free of charge
• Works in many different languages

Good to know:

• The service is based in Europe
• If your tape contains highly sensitive information, Good Tape still recommends transcribing manually. 

2. Targum

Targum translates social media videos using AI. When you share the link to any video or upload one from your desktop, the service detects the language, transcribes what’s being said, before translating it. The translated video is hosted on the platform and can be shared on social media. 

Pros: 

• Free of charge
• Works in up to 99 languages 

Good to know:

• The service is still in its beta version
• It’s based in the US

Podcasting 

3. MethodKit for podcasts

Journalism is a craftwork that requires a long thinking process which can be more efficient if visualised. Launched by DW Akademie and MethodKit, this toolkit helps you develop and produce podcasts step by step. The 61 cards cover all the aspects of podcast production and can be used as part of a brainstorming session or to mindmap the development process, both individually or within a team.  

Pros:  

• The digital version is free
• It is available in 13 languages

Good to know:

• You need to figure out how to best use the kit first

4. Deciphr

Deciphr is an AI-based tool that allows you to timestamp and summarise a podcast transcript in less than 60 seconds: you upload a file (transcript or audio), the service analyses it, and presents you with timestamps and show notes.

Pros:

• It’s free of charge

Cons: 

• So far, you cannot use the service in languages other than English

Good to know: 

• The service is based in Australia

Writing/editing 

5. CheckforAI

CheckforAI was launched as a reaction to Chat GPT and allows you to check if a text has been generated by AI. The analysis relies on the combination of Open AI’s existing Roberta-base model for GPT detection and CheckforAI’s proprietary models.

Pros: 

• It’s free of charge
• The Roberta-base model offers a 95% accuracy, according to the service 

Good to know:

• The service is based in the US