ONA Weekly #308

By on May 13, 2020

Joining forces to cover coronavirus

The magnitude of the coronavirus’ effects on our communities makes it only logical to work together to tackle stories. Here are a few inspiring collaborations forged since the outbreak began:
  • Centinela Covid-19 represents organizations from 12 Latin American countries plus U.S.-based Univision Notícias, focusing their investigations on social impact, disinformation and public purchases of medical supplies. “We believe that by working with people who are in other places, we can jointly connect the dots,” project coordinator Andrés Bermúdez Liévano told GIJN. “You alone are not going to do all the connecting, but if you are working with other people, who have other information, you can better understand the panorama.”
  • 40 newsrooms across Oregon revived a collaboration that began with a different public-health crisis in 2019. They’re aiming to cover more angles by avoiding re-reporting the same stories, and sharing skillsets such as data analysis. 
  • More than 20 Colorado news organizations joined forces to form the Colorado News Collaborative, also known as COLab, sharing stories via the Associated Press’ StoryShare platform. COLab is expanding partnerships in both urban and more rural parts of the state to cover more ground, collaborate on data-driven accountability journalism and achieve a wider distribution of stories in English and other languages.
  • Journalists across North Carolina are collaborating on projects to keep coverage diverse. The Port City Daily is in talks with local radio stations after they launched a faces-and-voices portrait series of Wilmington residents. Carolina Public Press has assembled an Emergency News Team to assist organizations who need help covering coronavirus stories (here’s their story on how N.C. businesses are doing, produced with The Hendersonville Lightning). And to translate their coronavirus diaries series into Spanish, The Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News and Observer partnered with Enlace Latino and Hola Magazine.

We can’t mention collaborations without noting the virtual Collaborative Journalism Summit begins tomorrow (registration is free), led by ONA Local organizer/Director of the Center for Cooperative Media Stefanie Murray. And if you’ve worked on a collaboration to cover the outbreak, Tweet a link at us at @ONA. 

How OJA-winning journalism has impacted communities

One of the best parts of administering the Online Journalism Awards is getting to know an array of incredible work from across the industry. As we impatiently await the newest submissions, we asked ONA Chief Knowledge Officer Trevor Knoblich to tell us about a few honorees whose work made a difference in their communities. From convincing a single person to vote, to a sweeping data analysis that spurred congressional action, here are five stories of impact from OJA winners and finalists.

Reminder: Submit your work to the 2020 Online Journalism Awards by June 4. 

Upcoming events

ONA Local groups regularly host events for digital journalists all over the world. All events are currently happening online. Find a group near you.

Career opportunities

ONA’s Career Center is an excellent resource for jobs, fellowships and internships in digital journalism. Recent postings include:

Recruiters: We’re offering a 20% discount on single listings and packages of three or five, for openings from now until June 1. Use code UQZUK7F8.

On our radar