Over 2,100 journalists traveled to Denver in September for the Online News Association Conference (ONA16) to discuss the most exciting trends in digital journalism and to honor the great work of colleagues around the world.
We’ve pulled together a range of resources here so that you can level up your reporting, be inspired by excellent projects and share takeaways with your newsroom. Plus, we’ve got lots of ways you can stay connected throughout the year.
For ONA, this was a big year: Saying goodbye to Executive Director Jane McDonnell after her leadership of the organization for eight years, and welcoming Irving Washington as he steps up from his role as Deputy Director into the Executive Director position. We also announced Journalism 360, a new partnership between ONA, Google News Lab and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that will help newsrooms experiment with and advance the field of immersive storytelling, and nearly $1 million in new support from the five funders of the Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education. With these new opportunities and changes at ONA, we look forward to doing what we do best — identifying and supporting great digital journalism.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the highlights from ONA16, from keynote videos to great reporting.
Photo by Anya Semenoff
Sessions: videos, social curation, audio, slides
- We’ve posted full videos from many ONA16 sessions, when available. Each session has its own page, accessible through the ONA16 schedule, featuring embedded video, live blog archives and resources from presenters. You can also watch the session videos on YouTube.
- Bonus: Our video team produced 30 short takeaway videos.
- The ONA16 Social Team curated live coverage of conference sessions. Their updates are embedded on the session pages, which you can access via the ONA16 schedule.
- Slides and takeaways from presenters, when available, have been added to individual session pages.
- Audio recordings of sessions, when available, are located on individual session pages and on Soundcloud.
Table Talks
We brought back the popular Table Talks this year, where expert speakers sat down with attendees to spark one-on-one conversations on major issues and big ideas, touching on everything from the future of podcasting to product management in the newsroom. See the notes from Table Talks, separated by subject area and discussions.
Great reporting from the Student Newsroom
Check out the comprehensive coverage by the 20 hand-picked journalists in the ONA16 Student Newsroom, sponsored by Google. Some of our favorite highlights include advice on how to banish “if only” from your newsroom, coverage on Amy Webb’s top tech trends, a video on the concerns of young journalists today and the app for attendees to see how connected they were to other people at the conference. Plus, check out the excellent work by our third class of HBCU Fellows, whose work was supported by the Knight Foundation. They even give you a behind-the-scenes look at the visual experience at ONA16.
Some great posts on ONA16
- Tips, tools, and themes from ONA16 to aid local journalism, by Marian Liu
- ICFJ Knight Roundup: Free digital tools showcased at the conference, by Sara Olstad
- Five takeaways from the conference, by Nausicaa Renner
- Trends and ideas from the conference, by Rachel Wise
#ONA16 on Social Media
- There were over 30,000 tweets on the main conference hashtag #ONA16, not to mention thousands more on individual hashtags for sessions! ONA16 was a top national trend on Twitter in the United States Wednesday, Sept. 14, through Sunday, Sept. 19 and a top worldwide trend on Thursday and Sunday. Plus, the keynote conversation, Do We Need A Bechel Test for News?, was featured as a Twitter moment.
- Meta: We used Facebook Live to broadcast our Opening Keynote on Facebook’s relationship with the media. Watch Fidji Simo, Facebook’s Director of Product, and Samantha Barry, CNN’s Senior Director of Social News, discuss how Facebook impacts news outlets both large and small.
- Check out more than 1,200 Instagram photos from ONA16 (and follow Online_News while you’re there to get updates from us).
Photo by Anya Semenoff
Celebrating the best in digital journalism: 2016 Online Journalism Awards
- See the full list of winners and their projects.
- Live blog and video of the awards ceremony.
Photos, gifs and more fun stuff
- Thanks to our friends at Twitter for letting us borrow the Twitter Mirror! Check out the fun selfies and gifs from the Opening Night Reception and the Diversity Reception by scrolling through the ONAConf tweets.
Photo by Anya Semenoff
Get involved with ONA
- Looking to connect with journalists in your community after the conference? We firmly believe local journalists are leading the charge in innovating and are invested in supporting work in their communities. Connect with an ONA Local group near you or let us know if you’re interested in starting one. You can also connect with the ONA community through Slack — sign up to get your invitation.
- Interested in VR, AR and immersive storytelling? Get involved with Journalism 360, a new project from ONA, Google News Lab and the Knight Foundation.
- We’re looking for women who are pushing innovation in digital media for the Women’s Leadership Accelerator, a tuition-free, week-long intensive training. ONA’s Accelerator will be held Feb. 5-10, 2017, at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Apply by Nov. 15.
- Are you a journalism educator or student? Connect with over 1,200 people passionate about journalism education and interesting projects in the ONA Educators Facebook group.
- Based internationally? We were thrilled to have so many global attendees at ONA16. Keep the conversation going with other digital journalists in the ONA International Facebook group.
- Want to provide guidance for your newsroom or classroom on ethical issues? Our Build Your Own Ethics Code is designed for you to customize your codes on pressing digital media issues
Missed a meeting? Need a new tool?
Nearly 100 digital media and media-tech firms and educators supported ONA16 in Denver and we are so grateful to them all. If you’re looking for dynamic partners in the software, design, commenting, data viz, video, content services, advertising, social, research and hardware space — or seeking a new professional or educational opportunity — be sure to check out the offerings from ONA’s sponsors, exhibitors, supporters and Midway participants from around the world.
Save the date for ONA17
We’re coming back to the East Coast in 2017! Join us Oct. 5-7, 2017, at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park for ONA17.