{"resourceId":"lmtribune-wsu-fanword-vendor-scale-lcsc-pilot-2026-10-16","versions":[{"version":"external-b592d95e7fecd83dd11b43822c8c7af94b9790e1de1a97df232ed15f1b86f95c","resource":{"id":"lmtribune-wsu-fanword-vendor-scale-lcsc-pilot-2026-10-16","title":"Lewiston Tribune: FanWord runs on five staff and added AI only in 2023; Lewis-Clark State piloted its transcription and does not use it, as WSU adds voice-note feature stories","organization":"Washington State University Athletics, FanWord, Lewis-Clark State College (covered by the Lewiston Tribune)","sector":"Athletic communications / sports information (AI-assisted recaps, bios, transcription and feature stories)","geography":"United States (Pullman, Washington; Lewiston, Idaho; NCAA Division I and NAIA)","publishedAt":"October 16, 2026","publicationDate":"2026-10-16","eventDate":null,"sourceName":"Lewiston Tribune","sourceLabel":"Independent local news reporting","sourceUrl":"https://www.lmtribune.com/sports/wsu-athletics-is-using-artificial-intelligence-to-help-tell-its-story-what-does-that-mean-fadaf08d/","evidenceClass":"independent-reporting","outcomeClass":"mixed","topics":["knowledge-work","accessibility-workforce","governance-procurement","operating-model"],"finding":"The Lewiston Tribune (Sam Taylor, Oct 16, 2026) adds detail beyond archived WSU–FanWord coverage. FanWord CEO Christopher Aumueller told the Tribune the Lincoln, Neb. company has five full-time employees in 2026, began as a freelance feature-story service in 2018, had about 70 partnerships by 2023 and did not add AI to its products until 2023; its website cites about 250 schools and conferences. Aumueller conceded the company needs to communicate better what the tool does. Lewis-Clark State's assistant AD for sports information, Alisha Alexander (also first VP of the NAIA SID association), said LCSC piloted FanWord's transcription feature several years ago and does not use the program, though she called it useful for writing help at one-SID schools. WSU's Bobby Alworth described the workflow: for ticketed sports staff upload a box-score game file, FanWord Assist drafts a recap and staff revise and publish; interns still write releases for non-ticketed sports. WSU may also send athletes questions to answer by voice note or video, which FanWord turns into feature stories for staff revision. WSU has three full-time SIDs and is hiring a fourth; it pays $5,000 per year. Murrow College dean Bruce Pinkleton said 10 Murrow students work in WSU Athletics. A WSU broadcast professor and a Daily Evergreen reporter objected to AI-written feature stories about people. No time-saved, accuracy or quality measurement is reported.","sledRelevance":"Why now: published Oct 16, 2026, the day of the last completed edition, and not archived. It is the first archived source to describe the vendor's own scale and AI history, a named small-college pilot that was not continued, and the voice-note-to-feature-story workflow, which moves AI from stat-driven recaps to writing about athletes as people. Interpretation: the procurement question for departments is shifting from cost (already archived at $5,000/year) to vendor capacity, which content types are in scope, and how athlete consent for AI-drafted profiles is handled.","evidence":"Local newspaper reporting from on-record interviews with WSU staff, the FanWord CEO, an LCSC sports information director, a WSU professor and a student reporter, plus a dean's statement. Vendor figures (staff count, partnership counts, 250 schools) are self-reported. The LCSC pilot is described in one sentence with no date, scope or reason for discontinuing. No usage data, time savings, error rates or reader-quality evaluation.","architectureImplications":"Vendor-hosted generative drafting service fed by uploaded game files with box scores, audio/video transcription, and athlete-submitted voice notes or video; outputs are drafts that staff edit in the athletics website CMS. Integration is file upload, not a live stats feed, so stat accuracy depends on the uploaded file and staff checks.","governanceImplications":"Departments should define which content types may be AI-drafted (recaps vs. feature stories about athletes), require human edit and sign-off, decide on disclosure labels, and preserve student-worker and intern roles they have committed to. Athlete voice notes used to generate profiles warrant explicit consent and a review step by the athlete. A five-person vendor serving about 250 departments raises continuity and support questions for multi-year contracts.","securityPrivacyImplications":"Athlete voice and video recordings submitted to a vendor are personal data and may be biometric in some jurisdictions; contracts should cover retention, deletion, use for model training, and sub-processors. Box scores are low-risk, but bios and features can include personal and health-adjacent details.","caveats":"Single local-news article in a heavily covered story (13 archived FanWord items). The LCSC non-use finding is anecdotal and undated. Vendor claims unverified. Critics' views are opinion, not measured quality findings.","streamIds":["college-athletics"],"roles":{"sales":"Sales framing: athletics communications offices are short-staffed, and FanWord sells drafting help for about $5,000 a year at WSU, but this report shows the harder conversation is trust: student and faculty backlash, a small-college pilot that was not continued, and a five-person vendor. A bounded offer is an AI content-policy and vendor-risk review for one communications office. Interpretation only; do not claim time savings, quality gains or staff-cost reductions, none of which are measured here.","engineering":"Engineering framing: the workflow is file upload of box scores, transcripts and athlete voice notes into a vendor-hosted drafting tool, with output edited by staff in the website CMS. Engineers should check how stats are parsed from uploads, how audio and video are stored, whether data trains models, and how drafts are logged. Proof of value is a side-by-side accuracy check of AI drafts against box scores and a consent trail for athlete recordings, not a demo.","delivery":"Delivery framing: the risk is less the software than the operating model around it. Interpretation: delivery should name the communications director as owner, write a content-scope policy separating recaps from athlete features, keep committed student roles, get athlete consent for voice-note profiles, and track corrections. Acceptance should rest on error rates, consent records and published disclosure, not adoption counts. Applicability is limited to departments with small SID staffs."},"roleDetails":{"sales":{"customerProblem":"Small sports information staffs cannot keep up with recaps, bios and features across many sports, but AI drafting draws student and faculty backlash.","stakeholders":["Director of athletic communications","Deputy AD for external relations","Journalism or communications college dean","Student media and interns","Compliance / general counsel","Athletics IT"],"discoveryQuestions":["Which content types would be AI-drafted, and which stay human-written?","How will athletes consent to voice notes being turned into stories?","What student or intern roles have you committed to keep?","What happens to your content and recordings if a five-person vendor fails?","Will AI-assisted content be labeled?"],"valueHypothesis":"Drafting help for routine recaps may free SID time for higher-value work if content scope, review and disclosure are clearly set.","potentialEngagement":"A two-week AI content-policy and vendor-risk review for one athletics communications office, covering content scope, consent, disclosure and contract terms.","unsupportedClaims":["Measured hours saved","Equal or better story quality","No impact on student opportunities","Accurate stats without human checks","Vendor stability for multi-year terms"]},"engineering":{"fit":"Departments with one to four SIDs publishing many routine recaps that already produce box-score files.","architectureIntegration":"Vendor-hosted generative drafting fed by uploaded game files, transcripts and athlete voice/video submissions; drafts exported or copied into the athletics CMS for staff edit and publish.","prerequisites":["Consistent box-score export files","CMS workflow with editor approval","Consent process for athlete recordings","Vendor DPA and security review"],"constraints":["File-upload integration, no live stats feed described","Small vendor with limited support capacity","State biometric/voice privacy laws vary","No published accuracy data"],"security":"Treat athlete recordings as personal data: limit retention, prohibit model training on them, require deletion at contract end, and restrict account access to named staff.","proofOfValue":["Compare 20 AI recap drafts with box scores for stat errors","Time a sample of recaps with and without the tool","Audit consent records for every voice-note feature","Test data deletion on request"]},"delivery":{"work":"Set content scope and disclosure policy, configure upload and edit workflow, set athlete consent steps, and pilot on a few sports before expanding.","dependencies":["Vendor onboarding","Athletics IT and counsel review","Student media and journalism college engagement","Athlete consent forms"],"ownership":"Director of athletic communications, with compliance as control owner for athlete-data consent.","skillsAdoption":"Train SIDs to fact-check drafts against source files, edit for voice, and log corrections; brief interns on remaining responsibilities.","governanceCheckpoints":["Content-scope policy approved before go-live","Athlete consent template approved by counsel","End-of-season error and correction review","Contract renewal review of vendor capacity"],"acceptanceCriteria":["Proposed: zero published stat errors traced to AI drafts in a season sample","Proposed: 100% of AI-assisted athlete features have recorded athlete consent","Proposed: disclosure policy published on the athletics site","Proposed: committed number of student roles maintained"],"risks":["Reputational backlash from students and alumni","AI-drafted features misrepresenting athletes","Stat errors from upload parsing","Vendor discontinuity","Loss of student training opportunities"]}},"retrievedAt":"2026-10-17T22:22:54-05:00","enrichedAt":"2026-10-17T22:24:29-05:00","enrichmentBasis":"retrieved source","accessibilityWorkforceImplications":"Framed as workload relief for three SIDs; critics see lost student writing opportunities, though the dean says 10 Murrow students still work in athletics.","procurementImplications":"$5,000/year at WSU; buyers should weigh vendor size (five FTEs), multi-year terms, data-use and exit clauses.","operatingModelImplications":"Shifts SIDs from writing to editing and fact-checking; extends AI drafting into athlete feature stories via voice notes.","sourceVerification":{"responseId":"curl-lmtribune-wsu-fanword-20261018T032254Z","openedUrl":"https://www.lmtribune.com/sports/wsu-athletics-is-using-artificial-intelligence-to-help-tell-its-story-what-does-that-mean-fadaf08d/","referenceExcerpt":"After piloting the transcription portion of the program several years ago in Lewiston, it is not a program that LCSC uses, Alexander said.","promptVersion":"sled-research-v4.0","model":null,"basis":"agent-reported inspection"}}}]}