In short
Rewriting a news agency’s wire story into an article published by a newsroom (in French, bâtonnage). The journalist takes the facts from the wire story. They adapt the headline, angle, length and style to the publication.
ExampleA wire story announces a company’s quarterly results. On a daily newspaper’s news desk, a journalist rewrites it with the paper’s own headline and standfirst. The article is online a few minutes later.
Why it mattersAn AI tool can produce a first draft of an article from a wire story. The newsroom then needs to know which part of the text comes from the AI and which source each fact rests on.
The word
In its literal sense, the French verb bâtonner means to beat with a stick. It also means to cross out a piece of writing. In French newsrooms, bâtonnage refers to rewriting an agency wire story.
The method
The journalist starts from one or more wire stories on the same subject. The usual steps are:
- identify the main fact and the date of the information
- check that the publication has not already run the information
- write a headline and standfirst specific to the publication
- rephrase the body of the text and fit it to the required length
- keep quotes word for word, in quotation marks
- credit the agency in the byline
Mistakes to avoid
Rephrasing can introduce errors that are not in the wire story:
- a figure changed, rounded or attributed to the wrong year
- a quote rephrased or attributed to the wrong person
- an added fact that appears in no source
- old information presented as new
A generative AI model can make these errors. Its text reads well even when it departs from the wire story.
What the AI Act says
Since 2 August 2026, Article 50 of the AI Act has required disclosure when a text published to inform the public on matters of public interest has been generated or manipulated by AI. The obligation does not apply if the text has undergone human review or editorial control, and if a natural or legal person holds editorial responsibility for its publication.
The European Commission’s guidelines specify what counts as human review. Fact-checking is the minimum. A spelling correction or a purely formal approval is not enough.
Wire story rewriting in Verbatim
The journalist pastes one or more wire stories into the agents panel. Verbatim writes a first draft in the chosen format: news brief, article, round-up, timeline, explainer or profile. Its style engine was developed with linguists. It measures dozens of features in published texts, from sentence length to the way people are quoted. It rewrites the wire story the way the journalist would have written it. Every correction refines the style profile.
The Checking agent compares every claim in the first draft with the wire story and with the project’s sources. With several wire stories, Verbatim flags their contradictions. The first draft stays linked to the original wire story. Verbatim records the origin of every line: the journalist, the AI or a source. In VerbatimOS, the article goes through the approval queue before publication.
Questions
Is a news organisation allowed to rewrite a wire story?
Yes, if it subscribes to the agency. The subscription contract allows wire stories to be reused and sets the conditions.
Does a wire story rewritten with AI have to be labelled?
Article 50 of the AI Act requires a disclosure for a text on matters of public interest generated or manipulated by AI. The disclosure is not mandatory if the text has undergone human review or editorial control, and if a natural or legal person holds editorial responsibility for it. A newsroom can always publish a disclosure for transparency.
How much time does a newsroom spend rewriting wire stories?
It depends on the number of wire stories it reuses and the time spent on each. Verbatim’s wire story rewriting time calculator gives an estimate based on your own figures.
What is the difference between wire story rewriting and reporting?
Wire story rewriting reuses information already produced by an agency. Reporting produces new information, gathered in the field or from sources.