I came to ONA with a mission: to strengthen this organization that I deeply love. My goal was for everyone to feel the same connection and inspiration I felt after attending my first ONA conference in 2012. And I wanted to ensure that our members and the industry felt supported by ONA during these uncertain times.
I’m proud to say that, as a team, we are achieving those goals and laying the foundation for a stronger future.
I will be stepping down from my position in late October to take on an exciting new role as Vice President of The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy.
I am incredibly proud of the work I’ve done at ONA to strengthen the organization and to ensure its financial sustainability. Under my tenure, we have been able to shore up the finances, attract new funders and invigorate the programming, including with our popular AI in Journalism Initiative. None of this would have been possible without our deeply committed staff, board of directors and a growing network of partners, funders and volunteers. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone for your incredible support and for fueling our progress.
ONA, like many journalism support organizations, faces challenges in an industry that continues to contract, but ONA’s long history—25 years!—demonstrates the strength of our mission and ability to adapt to serve the ever-changing needs of our members. We launched a strategic planning process late last year with a community survey that provided valuable feedback and ideas, which we’ve already started integrating into our year-round and conference programming.
The community expressed a desire for practical skill-building through training and resources, as well as keeping up with the latest developments at the intersection of tech and journalism. We are meeting those needs through programs like the AI in Journalism Initiative. The enthusiasm around these trainings and community conversations has been infectious and has truly been a game-changer for the organization.
People also shared that they wanted more opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and opportunities to grow their professional network. In April, we announced an expansion of our commitment to cultivate transformational leadership with the acquisition of Digital Women Leaders, a mentorship resource for women and non-binary people aimed at addressing disparities in journalism leadership.
For our annual conference, you asked for more opportunities to connect with peers and dive deeper into critical topics. We’ve listened: ONA24 will feature more interactive programming than ever, including about 20 meetups organized by topics and workshops on everything from professional development and AI to local news research, audience engagement, and product strategy. The organization is gaining momentum, and that will continue after my departure.
Thank you for believing in us and our mission. It has been a joy and privilege to lead ONA into this next chapter. I hope to see you all at ONA24 this month in Atlanta!
Best,
LaSharah S. Bunting
CEO & Executive Director, Online News Association
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ONA Board President Charo Henríquez reflects on 25 years of ONA and our next chapter