ONA Issues starts tumbling, new local groups start up

By on April 7, 2011

ONA Issues now on Tumblr!
Looking for a solid platform to creatively discuss—and find answers to—the complex questions that bubble up around digital journalism? Follow ONA Issues on Tumblr, then join the conversation by submitting your own posts. Let us know your opinion, what’s important to you and where you could use some guidance. We’ll listen and respond by hosting ONA Issues Live, a quarterly livestreamed conversation with experts on topics you help choose. Up next: net neutrality. Head to ONA Issues for details, and to join the discussion.

#NCMR11
Are you heading to the National Conference for Media Reform in Boston this weekend? Look for Jeanne Brooks, ONA Community Engagement Manager, who will be there representing—be sure to hit her up on Twitter or find her at one of these panels.

ONA Local

#ONALA is hosting a meetup tonight at 7 p.m. Head to the Public School 612 Gastropub to connect with digital journalism professionals in the area. Lead organizer Kim Bui (@kimbui) will be there along with ONA board member Robert Hernandez (@webjournalist). We’re looking to host more frequent events in the area, so if you’re interested in coordinating or have access to a great space to host events, show up and introduce yourself. For more details on the event and to RSVP head to meetup.com.

@ONACanada knows open data and collaboration is an important conversation for digital news producers. Join them for a discussion with Bill Dunphy, a web editor with the Hamilton Spectator, on April 13 at 7 p.m. at the Artful Dodger Pub in Toronto. The event is free. For more information and to RSVP, visit meetup.com.

#ONADC is excited to partner with Al Jazeera English for the launch of The Stream, a social media community with its own daily television program. The event is April 18 at 7 p.m. at the District in Adams Morgan. You’ll meet members of The Stream cast and watch the first episode. Can’t make it? No excuse. Join the livestreamed event from your couch. To RSVP and for more details head to meetup.com

A warm welcome to two new ONA Local groups

#ONADFW, representing the Dallas/Fort Worth area, is our latest local group. Many thanks to Daniel Lathrop, News Application Editor at the Dallas Morning News, who is taking on the task of lead organizer. Look for future events and join the conversation on what you’d like to see in the area by joining the ONADFW meetup.

@ONASacramento has also joined the ONA community on meetup and on Twitter.

@ONAUK: For those of you in the UK, we’ve moved the ONA community to meetup.com. Head on over and join to the group to be the first to know about upcoming events.

Deals, awards and a challenge

Free day at ASNE conference for ONA members
All ONA members in Southern California are invited to attend the final day of the 2011 ASNE Convention in San Diego free. The program—from 8:45 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 9, at the San Diego Marriott—will feature a continental breakfast, a presentation by Daniel Pink—best-selling author of four provocative bestselling books about the changing world of work—and panel discussions on news collaborations and best practices for mobile-news design. To take advantage of the offer, ONA members must register by 5 p.m. PT, Thursday, April 7. To pre-register, email your name, job title and affiliation to asne@asne.org, or sign up on ASNE’s Facebook event page, where you can also find a detailed agenda.

Come to Madison for an “in-your-face” discussion on partisan media
Political tumult over changes to state budgets, collective bargaining and voter ID—what better place than Madison, Wisc., to join the discussion Friday, April 15, at a journalism ethics conference hosted by the Center for Journalism Ethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. “In Your Face: Partisan Media in a Democracy Conference” includes sessions on partisanship’s effect on public broadcasting, nonprofit journalism, global coverage and polling, plus a keynote by Tony Burman, chief of strategy, Al Jazeera in the Americas, on “The Future of News Over Noise.” Head to the conference site for more information and registration.

Innovating in journalism? Apply here
Applications are now open for the 2011 Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism. Read the guidelines for the awards and apply here.

Open Data Challenge seeks European entries
The Open Data Challenge, a competition promoting innovative reuse of open public sector information published by local, regional and national public bodies across Europe, is open for entries. Organized by the Open Knowledge Foundation and the Open Forum Academy under the auspices of the Share PSI initiative, the competition seeks work that demonstrates the value of making public information assets freely and openly available for all to reuse in the categories of Ideas, Applications and Visualizations. Winners will receive €20,000 in prize money, and judges include European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes and Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Deadline is midnight, June 5. Check out the Open Data Challenge website for more details.

Jane McDonnell

Jane McDonnell

As executive director, Jane oversees and manages the day-to-day operations of the world’s largest membership organization of digital journalists, working closely with the Board of Directors. Her purview includes membership, partnerships, global community outreach, budgeting and revenue generation, fundraising and development, the Online Journalism Awards, and providing vision for ONA’s state-of-the-art annual conference.