Riply Media: The AI Tool Built By Journalists For Journalists

Riply Media: The AI Tool Built By Journalists For Journalists

From A Bright Idea by Amber Key

June 10, 2026 · 41 min

About this episode

Jen Austin discusses her journey in media and the creation of Riply, an AI tool for local journalism.

On this week’s episode, I sat down with Jen Austin, a three-decade radio veteran who's been heard on over 100 stations across the U.S., reaching over 10 million listeners, and has held virtually every role in the business, from music director to producer, and executive. After 30 years of watching the same story unfold everywhere she went, reduced staffs, shrinking budgets, and communities going without reliable local news coverage, she decided to make a change. So she founded Riply, an AI-assisted intelligence platform that helps local radio stations produce reliable, locally-focused news more quickly and affordably, without needing a full newsroom to do it. In this episode - Jen Austin shares her 30-year journey in media, the evolution of journalism, and the innovative AI platform Ripley designed to support local newsrooms. Discover how technology and human storytelling are shaping the future of journalism, especially in news deserts. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Jen Austin and Ripley 08:51 Growing Up in a News Desert 20:45 The AHA Moment Behind Ripley 28:38 Developing the Ripley Platform 39:04 Conclusion and Future of Journalism Resources https://riplymedia.com/…

People in this episode

Host: Amber Key

Guest: Jen Austin

Topics covered

  • AI in journalism
  • local news
  • media evolution
  • journalism technology
  • news deserts

Keywords

  • AI journalism
  • local news coverage
  • Riply Media
  • Jen Austin
  • media innovation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Riply, Riply Media

Places: U.S.

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