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Introducing the 2021 MJ Bear fellows
Six fantastic journalists have been selected as 2021 MJ Bear Fellows. The fellowship, now in its 10th year, identifies and supports journalists under 30 whose work represents the best of digital news. Join us in congratulating this year’s fellows:
- Adriana Lacy, freelance
- Beena Raghavendran, ProPublica
- Canela López, Insider
- Caroline Bauman, Chalkbeat
- Jasmine Lee, Harbour Times
- Natalie Van Hoozer, KUNR Public Radio and freelance
During the yearlong program, fellows will benefit from guidance on digital journalism projects, networking within the industry and opportunities to showcase their work to ONA’s global community. Learn more about the fellows and their projects.
The MJ Bear Fellowship is made possible through generous contributions by the MJ Bear Estate, friends of MJ Bear and ONA, Microsoft and MSN International.
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Swap ideas for news revenue and sustainability
On June 10, connect with newsroom leaders and business managers at our next networking meetup—a series of fast-paced, prompted breakout sessions to swap ideas for revenue opportunities for the rest of 2021. Discussions will touch on what’s next for events, membership retention, recruiting advertisers and more. Rodney Gibbs, ONA Board Treasurer and Senior Director of Strategy and Innovation at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will emcee. Register now.
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How newsrooms can support journalists coping with stress and burnout
Journalism is a stressful job, and the past year—between the pandemic, worldwide protests against systemic racism and charged elections—especially so. More and more attention is being paid to overburdened journalists and editors, especially after high-profile leaders such as Stacy-Marie Ishmael, Millie Tran (Texas Tribune) and Megan Greenwell (WIRED) resigned from their positions, citing burnout.
But less attention has been paid to solutions, especially on an institutional level. There have been guides on how journalists can protect themselves—know your own warning signs, put your phone away—but not as much discussion of how to create a culture that values the mental health of those in the newsroom.
Here are some tips for what can be done from a newsroom culture level, adapted from a list created by The Journalist’s Resource and more:
- Use best practices when subjecting journalists to traumatic imagery, whether that be still images or video. It’s not only the journalists in the field who are affected or who find it hard to cope.
- Offer trauma training across the newsroom instead of relying solely on journalists to take personal responsibility. Newsrooms can play a role by offering training on how to protect oneself from the psychological effects of difficult reporting. (The Dart Center, which offers trauma training, recently updated and adapted its offerings after “unprecedented demand.”) This includes training newsroom leaders to talk about trauma too. Management support and encouragement from a direct supervisor can be key.
- Make it easy to take some time off after difficult assignments, and make it clear that this will not have a negative professional impact.
- Offer a number to call when assistance is needed. “Editors should give everybody a card with a phone number that they can call at any time, 24/7, when they’re upset—people work late nights,” one person said.
- Create and institutionalize peer support programs
Dig deeper:
We’re always on the lookout for helpful resources and tips. If you have other examples to share, please reply directly to this email.
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OJA21 entries due Thursday, June 10
The Online Journalism Awards are the only comprehensive set of prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism around the world. Submit your best digital storytelling (including audio and video) to the 2021 OJAs by June 10. This year’s competition features 45 awards, including three new categories: Topical Reporting: Pandemic Coverage, Excellence in Social Justice Reporting and the Student Journalism Award.
If you’re interested in getting a peek at these inspiring entries, apply to be a volunteer screener. (The deadline is also June 10.) Screeners help discover the best work from the past year by reviewing 25-30 entries, which translates to a commitment of 10-15 hours between June 17-July 9. Your comments and scores are passed on to judging panels, who select the finalists and winners. It’s a truly meaningful volunteer experience and a chance to honor the wonderful work that is being done across the industry.
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ONA21 kicks off in less than two weeks
The conference schedule is live and the countdown is on! There’s less than two weeks left until ONA21 (June 22–25). Browse the schedule and have fun picking and choosing from over 50 panels, discussions and networking events designed to appeal to people working in audience engagement, digital, product and strategy.
To get you started, here are six schedule highlights from ONA Learning Consultant Brian Duff. He’s excited about events that explore personalized paywalls, efforts to repair historical harm, news trust amid the global pandemic and more. Register for ONA21 today.
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Important dates
Note: All ONA events are currently happening online, and open to all regardless of where you’re located.
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Career opportunities
ONA’s Career Center is an excellent resource for jobs, fellowships and internships in digital journalism. Recent postings include:
- Newsletter Digital Producer, Sinclair Broadcast Group
- Live Visual Editor (Photo), New York Times
- Digital Content Editor, Oovvuu
- Executive Director, Strategic Marketing and Growth Audiences and Marketing Director, Consumer Revenue, Boston Globe Media
- SEO Editor and SEO Editor (Weekends), Wall Street Journal
- Audience Engagement Manager, Nevada Independent
- Director of Membership and Research, LION Publishers
- Watchdog Reporter, Buffalo News
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On our radar
The radar is now open for suggestions. Have you written or read a piece lately that would benefit others in journalism? We’re interested in sharing insights on trends, how-to guides, lessons from a project and other inspiration for innovation in digital journalism.
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Nine of the 10 newspapers that won Pulitzer Prizes for local reporting over the last decade experienced some form of cutbacks over the past year, according to data collected by the