Help us retool the Online Journalism Awards
The Online Journalism Awards committee is getting ready for submissions later this year, and we’re asking for your input to help us in updating how we categorize organizations. Please take this short survey — it will go a long way toward making sure the OJAs keep pace in reflecting the state of the industry.
ONA12 Session Selector open
We know you have ideas for sessions at the 2012 Online News Association Conference & Awards Banquet, Sept. 20-22, in San Francisco. Good news: Our Session Selector is now open and you’re officially invited to submit session proposals for consideration in the ONA12 program or apply to be a speaker. Deadline for session proposals is March 1, deadline for speaker applications is March 27.
Innovate your election coverage with first ONAvation webinar
Learn about the trends and tools that can help you add color and depth to your election coverage in Innovative Social Tools for Covering the 2012 Election, the latest ONAvation webinar with Poynter’s News University, and the first for 2012. Join Phoebe Connelly, a senior editor at Yahoo! News, where she works on crowd sourcing, emerging reporting technology and the social web, for this one-hour webinar on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2 p.m. ET. ONA members price: $9.95. Non-member price: $29.95. Not a member? Join here.
Don’t forget about the discounts ONA members receive on all NewsU’s digital and in-person seminars. Members can grab promo codes here. See NewsU’s complete list of upcoming webinars.
We’re hiring!
Work with us! We’re hiring a full-time, tech-minded business development and sales manager to drive revenue and sponsorships for ONA, a fast-growing nonprofit 501 (c)(3). See the full job description here.
ONACamp: Free digital training set for Montana
Save the Date for ONACamp Montana, April 13, at the University of Montana in Missoula. ONACamps are free, all-day, intensive digital journalism training sessions, courtesy of a grant from the Gannett Foundation. If you’re in the area and interested in attending, help us create programming specific to your needs by completing this survey. More info on ONACamps here.
ONA Local upcoming events
ONA Gainesville just launched! If you’re in the Gainesville area, meet up with others interested in digital journalism and ONA by joining the group. You can find them on Meetup here.
ONA Local Penn State-State College will host a Skype chat Feb. 15 with Amy Webb, head of WebbMedia and ONA Board member, on social media strategy, upcoming hot sites and how she uses Twitter. There’s still space, so RSVP on Meetup.
ONA NYC hosts a special meet-up Feb. 15 for Social Media Week. Heather Murphy, Photo Editor at Slate, will moderate James Estrin, Staff Photographer for the New York Times; Paul Moakley, Deputy Photo Editor at TIME; Anthony Quintano, Sr., Community Manager, NBC News; Janis Krums, Co-Founder of Elementz Nutrition and Jim Collins, New York Photo Desk Manager, AP, as they discuss the shifting lens of photography in the digital age. RSVP on Meetup.
ONA @ Mizzou hosts a mobile brown bag Feb. 17 to discuss mobile advertising, mobile-first publishing strategies and job hunting. Amanda Bromwich and Matt Schmertz, 2011 convergence graduates, will talk about their jobs at The Marketing Arm, a Dallas-based marketing agency.
ONA Austin will discuss broadcast and new media Feb. 27 with: Sara Talbert, reporter for Fox Austin, Michael Spurlin, producer for MyFoxAustin.com; Rebekah Hood, web editor for KVUE.com; Nick Blackhall, web editor for KVUE.com, and Dale Blasingame, a former producer who studied broadcast journalism’s use of new media for his Master’s at Texas State University. RSVP on Meetup.
ONA DC welcomes LegiStorm’s Founder and President Jock Friedly, who will demonstrate the site’s new premium Pro product, which brings together data on members of Congress and their staffs. More information on Meetup.
Let your heroes shine for Sunshine Week
Sunshine Week is March 11-17. Here are a few ways you can show your support:- Nominate a Local Hero (or two) for 2012 until Feb. 20. Nomination forms are here.
- Send your Sunshine Week event information including, date, location, topic and URL (or email address for more information/registration) to be added to the Sunshine Week calendar to dghernandez@rcfp.org.
- Every year in the Toolkit, Sunshine Week offers free materials to participants, including a variety of opinion columns for use by all publishers. If you would like to have something from your organization included, send it to dghernandez@rcfp.org.
Fellowships, grants and awards
Knight News Challenge 2.0 to open
The Knight Foundation has announced the details of the revamped Knight News Challenge, offering funding for the best new innovations that digitally inform and engage communities. For the first time, the challenge will be offered three times this year, in short, more focused rounds, as a way to better mirror the pace of innovation. Themed “Networks,” round one, is the search for ideas that leverage and maximize the impact of the best existing media platforms to convey news and information. Applications for funding for the first challenge will be accepted Feb. 27-March 17. Read more about it on KnightBlog.org.
International Reporting Project Fellowships
The International Reporting Project from The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University is offering nine-week fellowships for reporters interested in international religion topics. Up to four reporting fellowships will be awarded for fall 2012 to U.S. journalists with proposals on important global religion stories—no matter where in the world they might be or no matter what religion(s) they are about. Learn more and apply for a fellowship by Monday, April 2.
2012 Women Entrepreneurs in the Digital News Frontier
The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) is now accepting applications for the 2012 Women Entrepreneurs in the Digital News Frontier Grant Program, awarding three $20,000 grants to entrepreneurial women journalists proposing to use digital media in new ways to deliver the news. Deadline for applications is March 2. More information and apply here.
IWMF also is accepting nominations for the Courage in Journalism Awards, which honor female journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of character while working under difficult or dangerous circumstances. Nominations will be accepted until March 2. Nominate a journalist here.