How The Two River Times, a local newspaper in Monmouth County, NJ, is exploring with Whitelabel how AI can make local journalism more accessible and local archives more useful.
Impact at a glance
The challenge: making local journalism and archives accessible
The Two River Times is a respected local newspaper serving communities across New Jersey, particularly in Monmouth County. The organization is exploring with Whitelabel how AI can make local journalism more accessible, local archives more useful, and the community connection that makes local news matter stronger.
Local journalism faces unique challenges: readers want quick answers to local questions, archives can be hard to search, and newsrooms operate with lean teams. The opportunity is to use AI to make all of that more accessible—not by replacing journalists, but by making their work easier to discover and engage with.
The approach: exploring AI with Whitelabel
The Two River Times and Whitelabel are exploring how AI can serve readers and the community. The focus areas include making local journalism more accessible—helping readers find the stories and information they need—and making archives more useful, so local reporting can be searched and discovered.
The work is qualitative and exploratory, focused on understanding where AI adds the most value for a local newsroom and its readers. The tools being explored include Agents for answering reader questions, Answer Engine for making sure local stories are discovered by AI search systems, and Marketing and Blogs for managing and distributing content.
The goal is not a finished product in the traditional sense, but a working understanding of how AI can strengthen local journalism and the community connections that make it matter. The Two River Times is approaching this work as an exploration.
What other newsrooms can learn
The Two River Times case demonstrates that local newsrooms don't need to be large or well-funded to explore how AI can serve their readers and communities. The work starts with understanding where readers get stuck—finding a specific story, searching archives, getting quick answers to local questions—and then using AI to remove that friction.
For other local newsrooms, the lesson is about access and discovery. Archives are valuable, but only if people can find what they need. Local stories matter, but only if they reach the people they serve. AI can help with both, and the tools to do it are increasingly accessible to organizations of any size. The Two River Times' exploration shows what that looks like in practice: not a replatforming project or a big budget initiative, but a focused look at where AI can make local journalism more accessible and more useful to the community.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Two River Times doing with Whitelabel?
The Two River Times is exploring with Whitelabel how AI can make local journalism more accessible, local archives more useful, and the community connection that makes local news matter stronger.
Where is The Two River Times located?
The Two River Times is a local newspaper in Monmouth County, New Jersey, serving communities across the region.
Is there a finished product or live demo?
The work is exploratory and in progress. The lab card does not include a public demo link.
Can other local newsrooms do similar work?
Yes. The exploration The Two River Times is doing with Whitelabel is replicable for any local newsroom looking to make their journalism and archives more accessible. The tools and approach are designed to work for organizations of any size.