Washington D.C., June 18, 2009 — The Online News Association, the world's largest membership organization of digital journalists, today asked the public to Support a Journalist by donating $10 to help send unemployed journalists from around the world to its annual conference, featuring keynote speaker Evan Williams, Twitter CEO.
For every $2,000 raised in $10 – or larger – donations by Aug. 1, ONA will offer a travel scholarship to send one journalist to ONA09, Oct. 1-3 in San Francisco, as part of its 10th Anniversary Celebration. A portion of the donations made through the Network for Good social giving site will be matched, thanks to a grant from the Challenge Fund for Journalism.
The initiative is an expansion of ONA's Support a Journalist campaign, which has distributed 53 free ONA memberships to journalists whose jobs have been claimed by the economic downturn.
“ONA wants to do everything it can to help quality journalism survive in these challenging times, and we're doing so by helping to ensure journalists have the digital skills they need to thrive,” said ONA Board President Jonathan Dube, Vice President of ABCNews.com.
ONA is asking supporters to spread the word by e-mailing, tweeting, texting and posting by using this link – http://supportajournalist.org/ – or the #saj hashtag on Twitter.
The tax-deductible donations will ensure journalists stay on the cutting edge of the digital medium by attending ONA09, the gold standard for training in emerging technology and networking with the sharpest minds in the industry. There they'll hear from keynoters “The Tech Guy” Leo Laporte and Blogher CEO Lisa Stone, as well as Williams, and be immersed in three days of hands-on multimedia training, expert panels and, this year, a new Career Summit and expanded Job Fair.
Once the Support a Journalist campaign closes Aug. 1, ONA will open up the application process. Scholarships, which will cover airfare, hotel room for three nights and conference registrations, will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Donors who give $2,000 will be able to name a journalist to attend.
In 2008, the Ford Foundation, Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation, McCormick Foundation and John S. & James L. Knight Foundation awarded ONA the prestigious Challenge Fund for Journalism Grant to help ONA better serve its membership. A portion of the donations to Support a Journalist will be matched when ONA reaches its goal of $90,000 by Aug. 1.
For more information about the Support a Journalist campaign, please visit SupportaJournalist.org.
The Online News Association is the world's largest association of online 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, technologists, photographers and others who produce news for the Internet or other digital delivery systems, as well as academic members and others interested in the development of online journalism. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association annual conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.
For more information, contact:
Jane McDonnell, Executive Director Online News Association 646-290-7900 director@journalists.org
Print Page
Email to a Friend
RSS