The 7 best automation tools for busy journalists

As a journalist, there are never enough hours in the day. Between chasing sources, conducting interviews, sifting through press releases, and meeting tight deadlines, there's barely time to grab a coffee - let alone transcribe an hour-long interview!

That's where automation tools come in.

These tools are designed to streamline your workflows and reduce repetitive tasks, freeing up your time to focus on what really matters: reporting accurate, engaging, and meaningful stories.

With that in mind, here are seven of the best automation tools for journalists - covering everything from interview transcription to data analysis.

Let's jump straight in.

Jump to:

• 1. Zapier - best for connecting all your tools
• 2. Transcribe - best for automating transcription
• 3. IFTTT - best for setting up news alerts
• 4. Feedly - best for automating content curation
• 5. Google Sheets with Google Apps Script - best for automating data workflows
• 6. Trello - best for automating editorial pipelines
• 7. Calendly - best for automating interview scheduling

1. Zapier - best for connecting all your tools

Zapier helps you streamline your journalistic workflows by automating the way your tools work together. From Gmail and Google Sheets to Trello and Slack, Zapier connects thousands of apps, and you can build simple or complex automations - known as "Zaps" - between them.

Examples of useful Zaps for journalists include:

• Saving press release attachments from Gmail to Google Drive

• Adding new interview bookings from Calendly into your Trello editorial calendar

• Sending yourself a Slack alert when a colleague updates a Google Sheet

• Auto-posting new stories from your CMS to Facebook, X or LinkedIn

Set up your Zaps once, and let them work in the background while you focus on the bigger picture!

2. Transcribe - best for automating transcription

Transcribing interviews is one of the most time-consuming parts of a journalist's day - especially when deadlines are looming. Transcribe takes that task off your plate by automatically converting audio and video files into text - giving you more time to focus on crafting the story.

Transcribe works directly in your browser, with no need to download an app. Just upload your file or record directly into the online editor, and you'll get an instant transcript, complete with timestamps and speaker separation. From there, you can edit the text, search for keywords, and pull key quotes for your stories.

With Zapier integration, you can automate your workflow by triggering transcription when new files are uploaded to Google Drive or Dropbox - or automatically send completed transcripts to Notion, Google Drive, or Slack.

Learn how to integrate Zapier with Transcribe and dig deeper into how it can streamline your transcription workflow.

3. IFTTT - best for setting up news alerts

IFTTT (short for "If This Then That") is a simple automation tool that helps you stay on top of breaking news, trending topics, or updates from niche sources - without having to refresh your feed all day.

It works by creating "applets" that link two services together. For example, if a new article mentions a keyword you care about, then send a push notification to your phone, or save the link to your reading list.

Popular IFTTT use cases for journalists include:

• Get a phone alert when your beat is mentioned in a news headline

• Automatically save new articles from a specific RSS feed to Pocket

• Log Twitter mentions or hashtags into a Google Sheet

• Trigger a Slack message when a story from a competitor site goes live

4. Feedly - best for automating content curation

Feedly helps journalists stay up to date and informed - so you can spend less time gathering and more time reporting. Instead of manually checking dozens of websites, blogs, and newsletters, Feedly automatically pulls everything into one organized feed - saving you hours of daily scrolling.

Its built-in AI assistant takes things a step further by filtering, prioritizing, and tagging stories based on your interests. You can train it to highlight articles that mention specific keywords, people, or companies, and mute ones you've seen a hundred times already.

5. Google Sheets with Google Apps Script - best for automating data workflows

If you're working with data - whether it's FOI responses, budget spreadsheets, or crowdsourced tips - Google Sheets is already a go-to. But paired with Google Apps Script, it becomes a powerful automation tool (for data journalists especially) that can clean, organize, and process information with minimal manual effort.

You don't need to be a coding whizz - Apps Script uses simple JavaScript to automate repetitive tasks like formatting, deduplicating entries, or pulling in live data from websites and APIs.

Here are some examples of how journalists can use this to their advantage:

• Automatically clean and format FOI response data for analysis or publishing

• Use scripts to flag anomalies or keyword matches in large datasets

• Import live stats or public data (e.g. crime reports or energy prices) on a set schedule

• Sync with Google Forms to log and sort reader-submitted tips

• Generate automated reports or visualizations to support a story

6. Trello - best for automating editorial pipelines

Trello is a visual project management tool that's perfect for managing pitches, deadlines, and in-progress stories. Its board-and-card setup makes it easy to track what stage each piece is at - whether you're working solo or as part of a remote team.

What really sets Trello apart for journalists is Butler, its built-in automation tool. With a few simple rules, you can cut down on admin and let Trello handle the repetitive stuff for you.

Here are some handy ways to use Trello automation:

• Automatically move a story card to "In Review" when a due date arrives

• Assign tasks based on labels like "Feature" or "Breaking"

• Trigger checklist templates for different story types (e.g. interview, op-ed, investigative)

• Send deadline reminders to Slack or email when a card nears completion

7. Calendly - best for automating interview scheduling

Going back and forth to book an interview is a frustratingly time-consuming task - especially when your inbox is already overflowing. Calendly eliminates the hassle by letting sources pick a time that works for both of you, based on your real-time availability.

You can create custom meeting types (like "15-minute phone interview" or "30-minute background chat"), and Calendly handles the rest - syncing with your calendar, sending reminders, and even adding video call links.

Ready to automate your workflows?

And there you have it - seven powerful automation tools to reduce repetitive tasks, streamline your workflows, and ultimately free up your time to focus on more interesting and rewarding parts of your job.

Want to learn more about how to use software to your advantage? Check out our list of the best AI tools for journalists, or discover the best AI tools to boost productivity across the board.