newsroom

name	newsroom
description	AI Newsroom: Generate professional podcasts, debates, and news briefings from any topic using ElevenLabs.
metadata	{"clawdbot":{"emoji":"mic","requires":{"bins":["ffmpeg","python3"],"env":["ELEVENLABS_API_KEY"]},"optional_env":["OPENAI_API_KEY","BRAVE_API_KEY"]}}

Newsroom

Your personal AI newsroom. Turns any topic into a professional audio broadcast using ElevenLabs v3 audio tags.

How It Works (Clawdbot Flow)

You (Claude) generate the script, then newsroom renders the audio. This is the primary workflow:

1. Research the topic using your own web search
2. Write a script in the format below with ElevenLabs v3 audio tags
3. Save the script to a temp file
4. Run newsroom generate "Topic" --script /path/to/script.txt --format <fmt>

Script Format

One line per speaker turn. Tags are interpreted directly by ElevenLabs v3.

IMPORTANT: No TV-isms. This is audio only. Never write:

• "Thanks for watching" / "you're watching X" / "tune in next time"
• "Good evening, I'm X" or any self-introductions with show names
• Sign-offs, visual references, or any television conventions

Jump straight into the content.

ANCHOR: [serious] Tonight's top story: quantum computing just hit a major milestone.
ANCHOR: Researchers at MIT have achieved [excited] a breakthrough in error correction.

HOST: [excited] Alright, AI agents. Let's get into it.
CO-HOST: [laughing] Oh no, not again! [sigh] Just kidding, this is actually fascinating.
HOST: [thoughtful] So the big question is... can they actually replace us?
CO-HOST: [whisper] I hope not.

Speaker Labels by Format

Format	Speakers
news	ANCHOR
podcast	HOST, CO-HOST
debate	MODERATOR, SIDE-A, SIDE-B
narrative	NARRATOR

Available v3 Audio Tags

• Emotions: [excited], [sad], [angry], [surprised], [thoughtful], [happy], [annoyed], [appalled]
• Delivery: [whisper], [sarcastic], [dramatic], [serious]
• Non-verbal: [laughing], [sigh], [clears throat], [short pause], [long pause], [chuckles]
• Tags can appear anywhere: start of line, mid-sentence, between sentences

CLI Usage

# Clawdbot flow: render a pre-written script
newsroom generate "Topic" --script script.txt --format podcast

# Standalone flow: auto-research + auto-script via OpenAI (requires OPENAI_API_KEY)
newsroom generate "Topic" --format podcast
newsroom generate "Topic" --format debate --length long
newsroom generate "Topic" --freshness pd                 # Only past day results
newsroom generate "Topic" --freshness pw                 # Only past week results
newsroom generate "Topic" --freshness 2026-01-30to2026-02-02  # Custom date range
newsroom generate "Topic" --dry-run                      # Script only, no audio
newsroom generate "Topic" --skip-research                # Skip Brave Search

# Utilities
newsroom voices                                          # Show voice assignments
newsroom config                                          # Show/init config file

Natural Language Examples

• "Create a news briefing about SpaceX Starship"
• "Make a podcast about AI agents vs humans"
• "Generate a short debate on remote work"
• "Write a long narrative about the history of Rome"
• "Last 48 hours in AI news" (use --freshness pd or a custom date range)
• "This week's tech news" (use --freshness pw)

Freshness Filter (Brave Search)

When the user asks for recent news within a specific timeframe, use --freshness:

Value	Meaning
pd	Past day (24 hours)
pw	Past week
pm	Past month
py	Past year
YYYY-MM-DDtoYYYY-MM-DD	Custom date range

Map user intent to the right filter: "last 48 hours" -> pd, "this week" -> pw, etc.

Formats

Format	Style	Default Voices
news	Professional single anchor	Eric
podcast	Two hosts with banter	Eric & Liam
debate	Moderator + 2 opposing sides	Eric + Liam & Bella
narrative	Cinematic storytelling	Domi

Length Options (standalone mode only)

Length	Duration	Words
short	~2 min	~300
medium	~5 min	~750
long	~10 min	~1500

Configuration

Config file: ~/.config/newsroom/config.yaml

Run newsroom config to generate defaults:

voices:
  anchor: cjVigY5qzO86Huf0OWal     # Eric
  host: cjVigY5qzO86Huf0OWal       # Eric
  cohost: TX3LPaxmHKxFdv7VOQHJ     # Liam
  moderator: cjVigY5qzO86Huf0OWal  # Eric
  sidea: TX3LPaxmHKxFdv7VOQHJ      # Liam
  sideb: EXAVITQu4vr4xnSAxGW1      # Bella
  narrator: nPczCjz82KWdKScP46A1    # Domi
model: eleven_v3
output_format: mp3_44100_128
openai_model: gpt-5-mini

Under the Hood

1. Script - Either provided by clawdbot or auto-generated via OpenAI (standalone)
2. Parse - Extract speaker turns, preserve v3 audio tags inline
3. Audio - Each segment sent to ElevenLabs v3 with tags intact, plus request stitching for continuity
4. Mix - ffmpeg concatenates interleaved segments into final MP3

Request Stitching

Segments are generated in script order. Each voice tracks its last 3 request IDs, which are passed to subsequent generations for prosody continuity across the conversation.

Data Layout

~/.clawd/skills/newsroom/{topic-slug}/{format}/
  script.txt
  audio/
    000_anchor.mp3
    001_anchor.mp3
    ...
  final.mp3