The Online News Association (ONA), founded in 1999, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization made up of more 2,000 members. It is the world’s largest association of digital journalists.
The majority of ONA members are professional online journalists. The association defines "professional members" as those "whose principal livelihood involves gathering or producing news for digital presentation." These include news writers, producers, programmers, bloggers,designers, editors, photographers and others who produce news for the Internet or other digital delivery systems. Other members include journalism educators, journalism students, business development, marketing and communications professionals in the media and those interested in the field of online journalism.
The Online News Association administers the Online Journalism Awards, the only awards honoring excellence in digital journalism. The OJAs focus on independent, community, nonprofit, major media and international news sites. Ten awards now come with a total of $60,000 in prize money, courtesy of the Gannett Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The awards were launched in May 2000 as a joint effort of the Online News Association and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Winners are announced at the annual conference.
The organization holds an annual conference and awards banquet, the Online News Association Conference & Awards Banquet, which features three days of training, leading media keynotes and a Career Summit & Job Fair. Past keynote speakers include: Twitter’s Evan Williams; Vivek Kundra, Chief Information Officer of the United States in the Obama administration; AOL CEO Tim Page; then-NPR CEO Vivian Schiller, and journalists instrumental in the Arab Spring uprising. Past conferences:
2017: Washington, D.C.
2016: Denver
2012: San Francisco
2002: New York City
2001: Berkeley, Calif.
2000: New York City
Starting in 2011, MJ Bear Fellowships have been awarded to three promising journalists under the age of 30. The fellowships “identify and celebrate young digital journalists, working independently or for a company or organization, who have demonstrated — through professional experimentation, research or other projects — that they deserve support for their efforts and/or vision.” The first fellowships were awarded for the 2011-12 academic year.
The 2014 MJ Bear Fellows:
Anika Anand, Director of Engagement at Chalkbeat, an education news network
Rajneesh Bhandari, Independent Multimedia Journalist
Aaron Williams, News Applications Developer, Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR)
The 2013 MJ Bear Fellows:
Armie Garde, Assistant Content Editor, Multimedia Journalist, Sun.Star Publishing, Cebu City, Philippines
Ashley Lohmann, Freelance journalist and Associate Editor, Fair Observer, San Francisco
Kyle Stokes, Reporter, StateImpact Indiana, a collaboration of WFIU and Indiana Public Broadcasting
The 2012 MJ Bear Fellows:
Hagit Bachrach, video producer at the Council on Foreign Relations
Tricia Fulks, freelance digital journalist; founding story director of “Hollow” interactive documentary
Denise Hassanzade Ajiri, web writer for Web writer for Radio Farda, Radio Free Europe.
The 2011 MJ Bear Fellows:
Lucas Timmons, a data journalist and web producer for The Edmonton Journal
Laura Amico, the founder and editor of Homicide Watch D.C. in Washington, D.C
LamThuy Vo, formerly multimedia reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, now at NPR’s Planet Money.
AP Google Journalism and Technology Scholarship
ONA administers this national scholarship program funded by the Associated Press and Google Inc. to foster digital, computer science and new media skills in student journalists. The scholarship, launched in 2011 and awarded six $20,000 scholarships to undergraduate and graduates students to apply to tuition.
The 2014-2015 AP Google Journalism and Technology Scholarship winners:
Beatrice Katcher, 30, graduate student, University of California-Berkeley
Allison McCartney, 24, graduate student at Stanford University
The 2013-2014 AP Google Journalism and Technology Scholarship winners:
Adam Allevato, 20, undergraduate student at Colorado State University
Lindsey Cook, 21, undergraduate student at the University of Georgia
Nonny de la Peña, graduate student at University of Southern California
Tyler Fisher, 22, undergraduate student at Northwestern University
Nilkanth Patel, 23, graduate student at Columbia University
Erik Reyna, 25, graduate student at University of California-Berkeley
The 2012-2013 AP Google Journalism and Technology Scholarship winners:
Emily Eggleston, 24, graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, studying journalism and geography.
Reginald James, 30, undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, studying political science and African American studies.
Katie Zhu, 21, undergraduate at Northwestern University, studying computer science and journalism.
Rebecca Rolfe, 25, graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, studying digital media.
Kevin Schaul, 20, undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota, studying journalism and computer science.
John Osborn, 29, graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, studying journalism.
The ONA Local program supports and connects thousands of journalists and technologists at the local level around the world, helping them network and share information through regular trainings, panels and meet-ups.
ONA brings free training sessions to cities across the United States through ONACamps, funded by the Gannett Foundation, typically day-long, intensive workshops which focus on introducing or honing practical digital media skills, including mobile, social media, data visualization, legal issues, revenue-building and tools and tech. ONACamps have been held in:
Indianapolis — June 12, 2015
Phoenix — Nov. 8, 2014
Washington, D.C. — Aug. 23, 2014
UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. — Feb. 8, 2014
Washington, D.C. — May 11, 2013
AAN Digital - Jan. 26, 2013
Minneapolis, Minn. — Dec. 1, 2012
NABJ12, New Orleans, La. — June 20, 2012
Missoula, Mont. — April 13, 2012
Denver — June 23, 2011
Honolulu, Hawaii — Jan. 21-22, 2011
Hollywood, Calif. — Aug. 4, 2010
Birmingham, Ala. — June 5, 2010
Bradenton, Fla. — Feb. 20, 2010
Ann Arbor, Mich. — Oct. 21-22, 2009
Executive Director: Jane McDonnell;
Deputy Director: Irving Washington;
Digital Director: Trevor Knoblich;
Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships: Jessica Strelitz;
Senior Communications Manager: Jennifer Mizgata;
Digital Manager: Jeremiah Patterson.
Officers:
President: Meredith Artley, Editor-in-Chief, CNN Digital, CNN;
Vice President: Joshua Hatch, Senior Editor for Data and Interactives, Chronicle of Higher Education;
Treasurer: David Cohn, Executive Producer, AJ+;
Secretary: Mandy Jenkins, Director of News, Storyful;
Past President: Jim Brady, founder and CEO, Stomping Ground.
Members:
Jody Brannon, Editor, Next America, The National Journal;
P. Kim Bui, Deputy Managing Editor, First Look Media;
Eric Carvin, Social Media Editor, The Associated Press;
Robert Hernandez, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism;
Steve Herrmann, Executive Editor, Digital, BBC News;
Greg Linch, Local Data Projects Editor, The Washington Post;
Jim Roberts,Executive Editor and Chief Content Officer, Mashable;
David Smydra, Manager of News Partnerships, Google;
Benét Wilson, Owner/Editor-In-Chief, Aviation Queen LLC;
José Zamora, Vice President for Strategic Communications, Univision News Networks.
At-Large Members:
President Emeritus Rich Jaroslovsky, Technology Columnist, Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek.
Rich Jaroslovsky (now President Emeritus), 1999-2000
Bruce Koon, 2001-2002
Doug Feaver, 2003
Ruth Gersh, 2004
Michael Silberman, 2005
Kinsey Wilson, 2006-2007
Jonathan Dube, 2008-2009
Christine Montgomery, 2010-2011
Jim Brady, 2012–13
Meredith Artley, 2014-2015
