ONA Weekly #506: The Internet Is Too Slow

By on April 3, 2024
We’re headed to Atlanta for ONA24 this Sept. 18-21 to celebrate 25 years of connecting the leading thinkers and innovators in digital journalism. Register for Early Bird passes to access the conference at the most discounted rate.

The internet is too slow

We are pleased to bring you a behind-the-scenes look at Still Loading, The Markup’s investigation into disparities in internet services and a winner in the Excellence in Technology Reporting category of the 2023 Online Journalism Awards. Reporter Aaron Sankin and his team looked at more than 800,000 internet offers across the U.S. The project revealed a pattern of service providers neglecting infrastructure in neighborhoods with lower-income households and with fewer white people. Read how the Still Loading project emerged and has grown.

The call for entries for the 2024 Online Journalism Awards opens Thursday, April 4. Review our tips for submitting and read more from past OJA winners:

April 9: Trust and transparency in AI use

The AI Innovator Collaborative meets again Tuesday, April 9. By popular request, this month’s gathering will focus on internal policies for AI use and earning audience trust with public disclosures. We’re excited for Lynn Walsh and Joy Mayer of Trusting News to bring their expertise to this discussion. Join us to learn and share your own ideas and experiences around newsroom AI policies so far.

The collaborative is a curated space for people experimenting with AI tools for news, and is offered as part of the ONA membership benefits. Learn more about the AI in Journalism Initiative.

Bring your voice to ONA24

The ONA24 Suggestion Box for session proposals and meetup topics is open through Friday, April 12. We want to hear your ideas to share about trends and best practices in five areas: 

  • Leadership, Strategy and Culture
  • AI and Emerging Technologies
  • Practical Insights and Tools
  • Revenue and Sustainability
  • Audience Development

Get specific in your pitch. Tell us about the session format that would be the best fit and what your audience would learn that they can apply to their work. But you don’t need to have the full speaker lineup confirmed; we look forward to collaborating on the selected sessions to ensure the ONA24 program represents a diverse mix of expertise and backgrounds. Start sharing your session proposals and meetup ideas now.

Listening rec: AI in Journalism

ONA’s Meghan Murphy, Director of Programs, and Hanaa Rifaey, Head of Strategic Partnerships, recently joined It’s All Journalism host Michael O’Connell on the podcast to discuss how we are supporting the journalism community to understand AI tools and focus on opportunities to expand audience reach and business sustainability. Listen to the episode.

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Virtual registration is now open for the 2024 Skoll World Forum

Sign up for online attendance to connect with global leaders and innovators and learn about the latest social and environmental solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. The Forum takes place April 9-12 and virtual registration is free.

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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:

On our radar

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