Light Touch or Hands on the Wheel
The same autopilot can run on standing policy or under close direction—without changing the reader promise.
In light-touch mode, editors set mission, policy, sections, and topic priorities, then let the newsroom continue on that course.
In active mode, editors steer each cycle with explicit assignments, curation interventions, and coverage pivots when context changes.
Both modes share one contract: agent work is policy-bounded, source-aware, and traceable through curation and approval history. Neither mode optimizes for clicks or tunes copy to individual reader surveillance.
Small teams can keep publishing velocity with standing autopilot settings. Larger teams can intervene at any stage without breaking the pipeline.
The reader promise does not change with the steering dial. Whether the newsroom runs lightly or under close direction, the output remains a shaped edition with a finite scope—something readers can finish.