From the AI Lab to the Newsroom
RAI Ph.D. student Jannis Blüml publishes his second article in the FAZ
It is rather unusual in the German academic world for a doctoral candidate to publish journalistic articles in a national daily newspaper. Jannis Blüml, a doctoral candidate at the Exzellenzcluster Reasonable Artificial Intelligence (RAI)has taken a three-month break from his dissertation and is spending that time as an intern at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). His second article was published on August 26, 2026.
Usually, doctoral candidates are more likely to appear in the media as interviewees and are asked about their research. Jannis Blüml, on the other hand, is taking on the role of author himself. From July through September 2026, he will be a guest at the FAZ, where he will write his own journalistic pieces. This is made possible by “RAI Narratives,” a program of the Reasonable AI Cluster of Excellence that enables research associates to intern at newspaper newsrooms.
Following his first article on the cost of AI queries for the business desk, Jannis Blüml has published a second article in the politics section. In it, he describes how different language models respond to the Wahl-O-Mat’s propositions in light of the upcoming state election in Saxony-Anhalt. Two more articles are in the works.
Science and Journalism in Dialogue
The RAI Cluster of Excellence offers doctoral students and postdocs the opportunity to participate in internships of up to three months at newspapers. To prepare for these internships, participants receive an introduction to science journalism based on the principles of the Henri Nannen School. For the Cluster of Excellence, however, these internships are more than just an opportunity for science communication.
The research associates contribute their expertise on a highly topical issue to the editorial teams. At the same time, they work with journalists to identify which questions might arise from this topic for a broader audience, and in the process learn how to explain complex concepts in an accessible way. In addition to identifying topics and writing their own articles in collaboration with various departments, their responsibilities also include researching and analyzing data, as well as creating visual representations of the topics.
In total, RAI awarded three paid internships to doctoral students in 2026. Following Jannis Blüml, Jan Buchmann will swap his university position for a spot in the newsroom in the fall of 2026, and Jannis Brugger will follow starting in early 2027.
Picture credits
Portrait: Jannis Blüml; illustration: FAZ
