Apple's approach to news: reaching out by choosing humans over machines

About a dozen former journalists have filled a few nondescript offices: selecting the news that tens of millions of people will read

Many of Apple’s employees moved into a glistening new $5 billion glass headquarters in Cupertino, California, this year. A mile west, at Apple’s old campus on 1 Infinite Loop, a project antithetical to Silicon Valley’s ethos is now underway.

In a quiet corner of the third floor, Apple is building a newsroom of sorts. About a dozen former journalists have filled a few nondescript offices to do what many other tech companies have for years left to software: selecting the news that tens of millions of people will read. 

One morning in late August, Apple News’ editor in chief, Lauren Kern, huddled with a deputy to discuss the five stories to feature atop the company’s three-year-old news app, which comes preinstalled on every iPhone in the United States, Britain and Australia. 

Many national news sites were leading that day with stories that the Justice Department had backed an affirmative-action lawsuit against Harvard University. “That’s a good proxy for us,’” said Kern’s deputy, a former editor for The New York Times whom Apple requested not be named for privacy reasons. 

He and Kern quickly agreed that it was the day’s top news, and after reading through a few versions, selected The Washington Post’s report because, they said, it provided the most context and explanation on why the news mattered.

Another story drawing wide coverage: racial barbs on the first day of the Florida’s governor race. “So we’re thinking about, how do you cover that responsibly?” the deputy said. “Race is a sensitive subject in America right now.” The pair selected a nuanced Miami Herald piece that examined the comments, their context and the debate about them.

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