WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Online News Association, the world’s largest membership organization of digital journalists, announces that Dick Costolo, Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, will keynote at its 2012 conference in San Francisco.
 Dick Costolo |
 Emily Bell |
Costolo will be joined at the Online News Association Conference and Awards Banquet Friday, Sept. 21, by Emily Bell, Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Journalism School and Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, in a luncheon conversation exploring the social media giant’s financial and cultural impact on digital media and plans for the 2012 Presidential election in November.
“When we were last in San Francisco, in 2009, we heard from Evan Williams, then CEO, on Twitter’s growing pains,” said Jane McDonnell, ONA Executive Director. “It will be fascinating to see how the company has evolved, and how its leadership sees its role playing out in journalism.”
Since October 2010, Costolo has been CEO of Twitter, where he is responsible for the growth and management of the global business. Previously, as Twitter’s Chief Operating Officer, he oversaw monetization and day-to-day operations. Before joining Twitter, he was cofounder and CEO of FeedBurner, a digital content syndication platform acquired by Google in 2007. While at Google, he was Group Product Manager on the Ads team responsible for social media ads.
Previously, Costolo lived and worked in Chicago, where he founded and ran two digital media companies: SpyOnIt, a web page monitoring service, and Burning Door Networked Media, a web design and development consulting company. He also was an improv performer with the acclaimed Annoyance Theater. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Computer Science. He is @dickc on Twitter.
Bell was director of digital content for Britain’s Guardian News and Media from 2006 to 2010. Previous to that post, she was editor-in-chief of Guardian Unlimited from 2001 to 2006. Under Bell, the Guardian received numerous awards, including the Webby Award for a newspaper website in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, and British Press Awards for Website of the Year in 2006, 2008 and 2009. She first joined the Observer newspaper, which became part of Guardian News and Media, in 1990, as a business reporter specializing in media business, marketing and technology.
Bell is a leading media commentator in the U.K., writing about broadcasting and media policy issues. She is a 1987 graduate of Christ Church, Oxford University, where she earned a Master’s degree in jurisprudence.
Early-bird registration is still open for the conference, which has sold out five years running.
About ONA
The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of digital journalists. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. The membership includes news writers, producers, designers, editors, bloggers, developers, photographers, educators, students and others who produce news for and support digital delivery systems. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.