Southeastern Louisiana University Led AI Media Workshop
Faculty and students demonstrated generative AI tools to prepare journalists for the modern media workforce.
Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Student editors and faculty from Southeastern Louisiana University hosted an AI-focused workshop at a New Orleans academic conference. The session provided hands-on training for students to master generative AI tools for visual storytelling and news production.
Why it matters
As entry-level roles increasingly mandate technical proficiency, educators are integrating artificial intelligence training into journalism curricula to ensure graduates remain competitive. This initiative bridges the gap between academic theory and the current requirements of the professional landscape.
The workshop taught participants to integrate real photography with generative AI, social media tools, and Canva to build breaking news graphics. Practitioners also explored using custom AI design elements to streamline brainstorming for feature stories and public relations campaigns.
The players
Southeastern Louisiana University
This public university located in Hammond, Louisiana, is the home institution for the faculty and student editors who led the AI training session.
Chelsea Slack
A faculty adviser at Southeastern Louisiana University, she was recognized as a 2026 Faculty Champion by the Center for Community News for her work.
The details
The session, titled Visualizing the Beat: An AI Prompting Challenge, employed a roundtable format that partitioned attendees into specialized groups for hard news, sports, and features. Faculty adviser Chelsea Slack, who was named a 2026 Faculty Champion by the Center for Community News, helped lead the instruction.
Timeline
Spring 2026 saw the NACE Job Outlook update confirm rising employer demand for AI skills.
October 2026 marked the date when student journalists and faculty led the session in New Orleans.
The Tech Race
The rise of generative AI in newsrooms follows the broader industry shift toward AI-assisted workflows as a standard requirement for junior roles. Universities are now accelerating the adoption of these tools to replace legacy manual design methods with faster, AI-driven alternatives.
For students and recent graduates, these training initiatives improve the ability to build sophisticated media graphics quickly using accessible tools like Canva and AI generators. Mastering these specific prompting challenges may increase the likelihood of meeting the technical requirements now appearing in one-third of entry-level job listings.
The takeaway
Educators are shifting focus toward high-utility technical training to keep pace with rapid workforce demands for generative AI proficiency. Students who proactively learn these tools during their academic tenure are better positioned to meet the evolving baseline requirements for digital communication roles.
Further reading
For more on how higher education is adapting to emerging tools, see our section on Artificial Intelligence.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Advocate.
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