»About the Project

News at Seven is an automatic system that crafts daily news shows. It finds the news you are interested in; edits it; finds relevant images, videos, and external opinions; and then presents it all using a virtual news team working in a virtual studio. News at Seven is a uniquely compelling experience that can present traditional news--augmented with supplemental images, videos, and opinions from the blogosphere—all without human intervention.

Because News at Seven is completely automatic, there is no limit to when it can be run or what it can present; the content and presentation form are completely customizable. News at Seven users can express interest in geo-politics, sports, entertainment, or local news and be given a news show tailored to their interests. They can also alter the way that the news in presented, from which anchor to use to what environment each story is presented in. Any world that can be built and any character that can be crafted can be integrated into the News at Seven experience. Sports stories can be presented by a player at a football game, stories of geo-political conflict can be presented by a soldier in the field and entertainment news and gossip presented by an actor walking down a red carpet. If we can imagine it, we can build it and you can see it.

Going beyond the promise of the Web, News at Seven isn’t just the future, it’s the future of the future.

»About the Lab

News at Seven was developed at Northwestern University’s Intelligent Information Laboratory (InfoLab). The InfoLab’s mission is to bring users information relevant to the specific moment and task at hand. We construct systems that connect users with information, services, people, and community on the basis of the context of their in-the-moment activity. The InfoLab creates frictionless information technologies that proactively get people the right information, at the right time and in the right form.

»About the People

Work on News at Seven is driven by Nate Nichols and Sara Owsley, Computer Science graduate students at Northwestern University’s Intelligent Information Laboratory (InfoLab). The work is directed by Kristian Hammond, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the InfoLab.