ONA Weekly #472: Announcing The ONA Board Candidates

By on August 2, 2023

Meet the ONA Board of Directors candidates

Headshots of the 15 ONA Board of Directors candidates. We’re excited to announce the slate of 15 candidates for the 2024-25 Board of Directors. Six incumbents and nine new candidates are running for six seats.

It’s crucial to vote because the board guides us in our mission to inspire innovation and excellence among digital journalists. Help us find the next group to continue steering the organization toward a sustainable future!

ONA members as of Aug. 10 are eligible to cast a ballot; voting will begin on Aug. 14. Review the voting process to make sure you’re ready.

Gene Demby to host OJAs

A headshot of Gene Demby, a host of NPR's Code Switch podcast.

We’re excited to announce that Gene Demby, a host of NPR’s Code Switch podcast and a Philadelphia native, will host the 2023 Online Journalism Awards (#OJA23)!

The OJAs Ceremony and Banquet on Aug. 26 in Philadelphia is the closing event of ONA23. The evening will start with a networking reception, followed by the ceremony and banquet, presented with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Register for ONA23: Philadelphia by Aug. 18 and add your ticket to the OJA ceremony during the registration process. If you’re already registered for ONA23, you can add on an OJA ticket by updating your registration. Standalone tickets are also available. 

An ad for AFP that reads, "Boost your social media reach. Global stories in vertical format. Try AFP social stories for free."

OJA finalists: Tech reporting

The 2023 Online Journalism Awards logo.In case you missed it, we announced this year’s inspiring OJA finalists last week. Explore all 194 nominees!

This week, we’re highlighting the finalists in a new category: Excellence in Technology Reporting. The large newsroom finalists are Content Moderation, Inc. and Insider, and The Post-Roe Information Crisis, Bloomberg News. The small/medium newsroom finalists are Elon Musk takes over Twitter, Platformer and The Verge; How Google uses secrecy, market dominance, and connections to rule tech, ProPublica; Human Trafficking’s Newest Abuse: Forcing Victims Into Cyberscamming, ProPublica; and Still Loading, The Markup.

Last call for OJAs and ONA23 attendees: Book your hotel room in ONA’s discounted block through Aug. 2.

Your examples of AI use in news

Last month, we asked our online followers to tell us about an interesting or inspiring use of artificial intelligence in journalism. Here’s what you said:

Watch our social media channels for this month’s topic – you could see your response featured here!

On the calendar

Career opportunities 

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

On our radar

P.S. from the ONA team…

  • Bill Brady, ONA Strategic Partnerships Coordinator, was interviewed by Membership Management Report about generating revenue through an online career center.
  • Congratulations to ONA board member Imaeyen Ibanga! She just won an Excellence in Digital Video Award from the NLGJA for her project “I’m A Pregnant Man In An Anti-LGBTQ+ State.”
  • Congrats to ONA board president David Smydra, who started a new role as VP of Product at POLITICO in June.

Directory spotlight

The Dow Jones Foundation

The Dow Jones Foundation supports organizations involved with journalism, free press, literacy and education and the arts.

Dozens of technology companies, foundations, consultants and journalism organizations contribute to ONA’s mission throughout the year. Explore our Industry Directory to discover new tools and potential partners, or learn how to get listed.

Support ONA

There are many ways to help sustain ONA’s mission to inspire and support innovation in digital journalism.