AI Tool for Sorting Story Leads

Let your AI agent handle the endless flow of tips and assignments—screening, researching, and ranking each lead—so you can concentrate on breaking news.

You’re buried in emails, Google Sheets, and Slack messages, trying to spot the best tips. As a reporter or assignment editor, you waste hours every week reviewing leads, worried you’ll overlook a scoop or chase dead ends. The manual grind leaves you exhausted and distracted from real journalism.

An AI agent that reviews, ranks, and researches story leads for journalists, so you can focus on reporting instead of sifting through emails and spreadsheets.

What this replaces

Manually reading every tip in Gmail and Outlook
Copying leads into Google Sheets for prioritization
Searching LexisNexis for background on each assignment
Checking for duplicate stories across Trello boards
Brainstorming story angles without automated suggestions

The hidden cost

What this is really costing you

In newsrooms, reporters and editors spend hours every week combing through Gmail, Outlook, and shared Google Sheets to review incoming tips and assignments. Manually checking each submission, researching background info, and ranking priorities slows down the entire editorial process. The constant influx of information makes it easy to miss urgent leads or duplicate work, especially when everything is tracked across multiple platforms.

Time wasted

2.5 hrs/week

Every week, burned on work an AI agent handles in minutes.

Money lost

$5,000/year

In salary, missed revenue, and operational drag — annually.

If you keep ignoring it

If you keep relying on manual review, you risk missing time-sensitive stories, duplicating research, and burning out your editorial team. Delayed responses can cost your newsroom exclusives and reduce your overall story output.

Cost estimates derived from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data and O*NET task analysis.

Return on investment

The math speaks for itself

Today — without agent

2.5 hrs/week

of manual work

$5,000/year/ year

With your AI agent

20 min/week

agent-handled

$500/year/ year

You save

$4,500/year

every year, reinvested into growing your business

Estimates based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics median salary data and O*NET task importance ratings from worker surveys. Time savings assume 80% automation of eligible task components.

Jobs your agent handles

What this agent does for you

Complete jobs, handled end-to-end — so your team focuses on what matters.

Screening a Flood of Email Tips

You ask your agent to review all new tips received today and highlight the top three with the most potential.

Prioritizing Breaking Assignments

You ask your agent to sort a list of incoming assignments by urgency and public interest.

Researching a Promising Lead

You ask your agent to pull background information and recent news related to a specific tip.

Finding Fresh Angles

You ask your agent to suggest new angles or questions for a tip that seems promising but needs more depth.

How to hire your agent

1

Connect your tools

Link your newsroom communication, research databases, and document management tools to streamline lead evaluation.

2

Tell your agent what you need

Type: 'Evaluate these ten tips for relevance and suggest the three best story ideas.'

3

Agent gets it done

Get a ranked list of leads with summaries, research notes, and suggested story angles—ready for your editorial review.

You doing it vs. your agent doing it

Read and assess each tip individually, often missing key details.
Agent summarizes and highlights the most newsworthy leads instantly.
1 hr/week
Manually sort and rank based on gut feeling and limited info.
Agent ranks assignments by urgency and relevance using data-driven criteria.
30 min/week
Search multiple sources for context and verification.
Agent compiles background info and recent coverage in one step.
20 min/week
Cross-check leads against assignments by memory or spreadsheets.
Agent flags duplicates automatically, preventing wasted work.
10 min/week

Agent skill set

What this agent knows how to do

Lead Review

Screens incoming tips from email and Slack, providing concise summaries and relevance ratings for each.

Assignment Ranking

Sorts assignments pulled from Google Sheets by urgency, news value, and editorial focus, delivering a prioritized list.

Background Fact-Finding

Researches leads using LexisNexis and recent news coverage, compiling key facts and context for your review.

Story Angle Generation

Suggests new approaches and follow-up questions for promising tips, helping you craft compelling pitches.

Duplicate Lead Detection

Flags overlapping tips and assignments by cross-referencing your Trello and Asana boards, reducing wasted effort.

AI Agent FAQ

Yes, your agent can pull tips from Gmail, Outlook, and Slack, and can import assignments from Google Sheets, Trello, and Asana. If you use other platforms, you can upload data for evaluation.

Your agent uses your editorial criteria—such as timeliness, impact, and relevance—to score and rank each lead. You always have the final say before moving forward.

While the AI agent excels at rapid screening and research, editorial judgment remains essential. You review all summaries and recommendations before any story moves forward.

All information is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.3 and is never stored after processing. The agent is compliant with newsroom privacy standards and does not share data externally.

The agent handles text-based leads from email, Slack, and Google Docs. For audio or video, provide transcripts for accurate analysis; full multimedia support is planned for future updates.

The agent rapidly screens and ranks leads using your newsroom’s criteria, reducing manual review time by over 80%. You still make all editorial decisions, but the agent ensures nothing gets missed.

See how much your team could save with AI

Take our free 2-minute automation audit. Get a personalized report showing exactly which tasks AI agents can handle for your team.

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