Guide
News VideoAI AutomationNews ContentVideo Production2026AI News Video Generator: Creating News-Style Videos with AI (2026 Guide)
News organizations, newsletters, and independent journalists are increasingly using AI tools to produce video summaries of written articles and reports. AI narration, stock footage assembly, and automated captioning allow a single writer to produce multiple video segments per day. This guide covers the tools, workflows, and ethical considerations for AI-assisted news video production.
Last updated: February 26, 2026
Step-by-Step Guide
Establish your editorial process first
Decide your sourcing standards, fact verification process, and disclosure policy before choosing any AI tool. Tools serve an editorial process — they do not create one.
Write verified scripts before using AI production tools
Every AI news video starts with an accurate, sourced script. Do not input raw AI-generated text into a news video tool — verify every fact in your script against primary sources first.
Test FluxNote or Pictory with a recent article
Convert one of your existing published articles to video using a free trial. Evaluate the stock footage selection quality, narration accuracy, and production value against your standards.
Build a stock footage review step into every video
AI stock footage selection is keyword-based and often selects visually unrelated or misleading footage. Budget 10-15 minutes per video for manual footage review and replacement.
Publish your disclosure policy
State clearly on your channel/website how you use AI tools in production. This is increasingly expected by audiences and required by growing industry standards.
How AI news video generation works
AI news video production is primarily an assembly process, not a generation process. The best results come from providing the AI with accurate written content (your own reporting or a licensed source) and letting it handle the production — narration, visuals, captions, and structure.
The basic pipeline:
1. Written article or script (your reporting, not AI-generated facts)
2. AI narration (text-to-speech with natural voice synthesis)
3. Stock footage matching (automated selection of relevant licensed footage)
4. Caption generation (automated transcription of narration)
5. Assembly and export (automated timeline assembly)
Key tools for this workflow:
- FluxNote: Specifically designed for this workflow. Takes a script or article URL and assembles a complete video with AI narration and stock footage. Strong fit for news recap videos, daily briefings, and article-to-video conversion.
- Pictory: Converts articles and scripts into video with AI voiceover. Good stock footage library.
- Murf.ai: AI voice synthesis with news-style voices. Often used to narrate scripts when combined with manual video assembly.
- Descript: More editing-focused but has strong AI transcription and voiceover tools useful for news production.
What AI cannot do in news production: AI cannot verify facts, identify sources, conduct interviews, or make editorial judgments. The human journalist remains responsible for every fact in the final video. AI handles production; humans handle journalism.
Responsible practices for AI news video
AI news video carries specific ethical and practical responsibilities that do not apply to entertainment or educational content.
Factual accuracy is entirely your responsibility:
The AI tools used in news video do not fact-check your content. They produce compelling videos from whatever text you provide. If your script contains an error, the AI will present it confidently in a polished news-style format. This can amplify misinformation more effectively than text alone.
Disclosure requirements:
Growing consensus in journalism ethics requires disclosure when AI tools assist in content production. The Society of Professional Journalists and similar organizations have developing standards. At minimum:
- Disclose AI voice narration if it is presented as a journalist or named anchor
- Do not use AI-generated imagery to represent actual events
- Do not use AI-generated video of real people saying things they did not say
Stock footage limitations:
AI tools select stock footage that visually matches your script keywords, not footage of the actual events you are reporting on. A story about a factory fire will be illustrated with stock footage of fire, not footage of the actual fire. This is acceptable if clearly framed as illustration, not documentation.
AI-generated visuals in news (avoid):
Using Runway, Midjourney, or similar tools to generate visual representations of news events is a serious ethical issue unless clearly labeled as illustration. AI-generated images of real people, places, or events that were not actually filmed create false impressions and can constitute misinformation.
Practical workflow for a daily news video operation
A solo journalist or small newsroom can produce 3-8 news videos per day using this workflow:
Morning setup (15 minutes):
- Identify the day's top 3-5 stories you will cover
- Verify facts for each story from primary sources
- Write or adapt scripts (300-500 words per 2-3 minute segment)
Production per video (20-30 minutes):
1. Input script to FluxNote or Pictory
2. Select narration voice and pacing
3. Review AI-selected stock footage and replace irrelevant clips (10-15 minutes of review)
4. Verify captions are accurate
5. Add lower thirds with source attribution
6. Export
Quality control (5-10 minutes per video):
- Watch the full video before publishing
- Verify all facts stated in narration are accurate
- Confirm stock footage is not misleading
- Check caption accuracy for any technical terms, proper nouns, or statistics
Publishing:
YouTube is the primary platform for news video. A daily news video channel can build significant audience through YouTube search and suggested video. Embed videos in newsletters or on your website for additional distribution.
Monetization:
A news video channel with consistent daily output and growing viewership can monetize through:
- YouTube AdSense (news content: $5-$20 RPM, lower than finance/business but consistent)
- Newsletter sponsorships
- Direct reader/viewer support (Patreon, Substack)
- Licensing content to other outlets
Disclaimer: Journalism ethics require that AI tools assist production, not replace reporting. All factual content in AI-assisted news video must be verified by the journalist or editor.
Pro Tips
- News-style narration benefits from a measured, clear voice at moderate pace — test multiple AI voice options and avoid voices that sound rushed or overly promotional
- Write scripts in active voice and present tense for news — 'The Federal Reserve raised interest rates' not 'Interest rates were raised by the Federal Reserve'
- Keep individual news videos to 90-180 seconds for maximum viewer retention on YouTube and social platforms — longer segments lose viewers before the conclusion
- Source attribution in your script ('according to the Congressional Budget Office') and as lower thirds adds credibility and differentiates quality news content from opinion content
- Build a consistent visual template (logo bug, lower thirds style, outro) and apply it to every video — brand consistency helps viewers identify your content in feeds