ONA Weekly #568: Networking The ONA Way

Networking the ONA way

ONA’s annual conference isn’t just about great speakers. We always offer a variety of opportunities to meet and catch up with fellow attendees who represent all news production functions, geographies and types of organizations as well as independent journalism.

Here are just a few of the ideas to plan for at ONA25 in New Orleans. Join a conversation during the popular Table Talks sessions to reflect on what you’re learning at the conference so far and connect with peers working on similar challenges, or choose from 20 or so topic-based meetups to find your people based on interests, job roles or other affiliation. If you’re thinking about career moves, consider the career advice sessions, offered in small groups for early- and mid-career professionals to get guidance from senior leaders in the industry while also learning from other peers’ experiences. Or if spontaneity is more your thing, come to the ONA25 Welcome Reception—you may just bump into your next favorite collaborator.

Next Tuesday: AI and local news

The next meetup for ONA’s AI Innovator Collaborative is coming up on Tuesday, July 8, 3–4 p.m. Join us as our co-host Liz Worthington, Director of Product Strategy at the American Press Institute, facilitates a discussion about how local newsrooms are leveraging AI to connect with audiences. We’ll hear specific examples from Derrick Ho, Editorial Director, AI, for Hearst Newspapers, and others, as well as discuss how teams can learn from data and testing new approaches.

This session was inspired by conversations at API Local News Summit on Local Identity, History and Sustainability. Thanks to API for including us in the summit and partnering on this follow-up conversation with the ONA community.

Mark your calendar

• 👋 Ongoing: Pitch a virtual session Speaking opportunity!
• July 8: AI Innovator Collaborative: Connecting through Local Identity and History 
• July 17: Climate Is the Everything Story 
• Aug. 4: What Should We Say? New Research on AI Disclosures in Journalism 
• Aug. 12: AI Innovator Collaborative: Let’s Write It: Workshop To Write AI Use Disclosures
• Sept. 10–13: ONA25 in New Orleans 
• Oct. 8–10: Mental Health in Journalism Summit 2025 (with The Self-Investigation) 
• Oct. 14: AI Innovator Collaborative
• Nov. 11: AI Innovator Collaborative
• Dec. 9: AI Innovator Collaborative     

Career opportunities

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

• Chief Operating Officer, Deep South Today NEW!
• Education Reporter, New York Focus NEW!
• WRUF AM and FM: OPS/Part-Time Programming Assistant, University of Florida NEW!
• Data Product Manager, The Texas Tribune NEW!
• Corporate Marketing Representative/ Division of Multimedia Properties, University of Florida
• Editor and General Manager, Times of San Diego, Newswell
• Community Engagement and Events Manager, Austin Local Newsroom, The Texas Tribune
• Social Video Producer, Temporary, ProPublica
• News Editor, The Examination
• Clinical Assistant Professor, Arizona State University
• Vice President of Philanthropy, Healthbeat, Civic News Company
• Executive Director, Knight Center for the Future of News, and Professor of Practice, Arizona State University
• Multimedia Specialist I, University of Florida
• Digital Strategist, MediaNews Group
• Dallas Accountability Reporter, KERA/North Texas Broadcasting
• Multimedia Content Producer/Morning Edition Anchor, University of Florida
• Research Director, Institute for Nonprofit News
• Donald W. Reynolds Chair in Journalism Strategy and Business Operations, University of Missouri – Columbia
• Part-time Radio Operations and Production Assistant, KERA/North Texas Broadcasting
• Designer/Developer, The Texas Tribune