Wednesday Dec 25, 2024
Tuesday, 13 September 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Hishan Welmilla in Denver, Colorado
The Online News Association’s 2016 Conference which convene the best of digital media journalists, technologists, designers, executives, educators, students and others looking to network and share innovative ideas will get under way from 15-17 September at Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center, in Denver, USA.
The Online News Association (ONA) is the world’s largest association of digital journalists. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. Membership includes journalists, technologists, executives, academics and students who produce news for and support digital delivery systems.
Record-breaking numbers of journalists travel to ONA’s conference each year to learn about new tools, techniques and technologies, to discuss advancements and challenges in the industry, take advantage of the rare opportunity to network face-to-face, and share best practices with peers from all over the world.
There will be high-quality sessions with expert speakers, innovative, interactive exhibits and hands-on demos with emerging technology over three high-energy days.
The educational programming aims to provide inspiring insights into advancements in journalism, practical tips and best practices for common challenges in digital media, and hands-on workshops and training with emerging digital tools.
ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.
Finalists for the 2016 Online Journalism Awards, representing a wide range of nonprofit, public, academic, media and emerging technology organisations from around the globe, were announced on August 16 by the ONA.
Over the past 15 years, the OJAs have been the only awards that solely honor innovative digital work by major media, international, independent and academic journalists and technologists.
Twelve of the awards now come with $53,500 in prize money, courtesy of Knight Foundation, the Gannett Foundation and the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. These awards honor journalism, visual digital storytelling, investigative journalism, public service, technical innovation, student journalism and general excellence.
This year’s awards reflect a deeper consideration of how newsrooms engage their audiences, focusing on the emerging prevalence of new digital tools, distributions channels and content platforms. The second James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting will again honor one of the many journalists reporting under the most challenging conditions; a special committee will select the recipient.
A group of 76 industry-leading journalists and new media professionals teamed up to screen 1,029 entries and select semi-finalists. Twenty judges representing a diverse cross-section of the industry then conferred to determine finalists and winners.
The winners will be announced at the 2016 ONA Conference and Online Journalism Awards (OJA) Banquet on Saturday, 17 September.