ONA Weekly #456: Our New CEO's Vision For ONA

New CEO LaSharah S. Bunting on ONA’s future

ONA’s new CEO and Executive Director, LaSharah S. Bunting, is sharing her thoughts on how to grow ONA.

In a new letter, LaSharah talks about her history with ONA and the importance of serving our communities and rebuilding local news ecosystems. She also discusses the significance of ONA’s role as the catalyst for experimentation around emerging technology, storytelling and revenue models.

Read LaSharah’s letter to the ONA community, reach out to her with your ideas and feedback, and watch for upcoming opportunities to ask her your questions.

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Don’t miss the HBCU Digital Media Fellowship application deadline

The application deadline for the HBCU Digital Media Fellowship is fast approaching!

Students chosen for the Fellowship will receive hands-on experience during the 2023 Online News Association Conference (#ONA23), Aug. 23-26 in Philadelphia. Schedules will be tailored to students’ individual career interests and time will be allotted for attending conference sessions and networking events where they will connect with professional digital journalism innovators.

Submit your application by 11:59 p.m. EDT on April 13.

What to watch for

We’re working hard to get Early Bird registration for ONA23 open. Members of ONA will receive early access and reduced rates— watch your inboxes for the promo code soon. If you’re not an ONA member, join or renew your membership today!
Submissions for the Online Journalism Awards, honoring the best of digital journalism, are opening on April 20. Keep an eye out for the official announcement!

On the calendar

April 13: HBCU Digital Media Fellowship application deadline Tomorrow!
April 20: Online Journalism Awards submissions open
April 20: Student Newsroom and Innovation Lab applications due
April 20: Newsletter meetup: Marketing, subscriber growth, partnerships and revenue (Virtual)
April 20: ONA Spain Meetup: El Podcast Documental
April 25: Executive Women Leaders Salon: Building and leading innovative teams (Virtual)
April 27: MJ Bear Fellowship application deadline
June 15: Executive Women Leaders Salon: Navigating recruitment and onboarding to executive positions (Virtual)
July 18: Newsletter meetup: Audience engagement strategies for newsletters (in-person, New York City)
Aug. 23: Executive Women Leaders Salon: Cultivating organizational resilience (in-person at ONA23)
Aug. 23–26: ONA23: Philadelphia
Aug. 26: 2023 Online Journalism Awards Ceremony
Sept. 28–29: ONA23: Onward (Virtual)

Career opportunities

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

Audience Engagement Editor, New York Focus
Associate Director, News and Information Research, Pew Research Center
Product Manager, Newsletters, ProPublica
Politics and Campaign Reporter, Climate Reporter, CalMatters
Senior Editor, Digital, Science Friday
President and CEO, Deep South Today
Executive Communications Director, Solidarity Center
Digital Fellow, Democracy Now!

On our radar

Trans and gender-fluid kids are under attack. How can we tell their stories without furthering harm?, Nora Neus for Poynter
Student reporters are filling a crucial gap in state government coverage, Richard Watts for Nieman Lab
The case for local news: it is how you define “it”, Andrew Ramsammy for Local Media Association
Accountability infrastructure for equitable journalism, Andrea Wenzel for Gather
Are global power players shrugging off the disinformation crisis?, Brian Stelter for Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy

P.S. from the ONA team

Reminder: ONA CEO and Executive Director LaSharah S. Bunting will be moderating a panel at this year’s International Symposium on Online Journalism. Join her in Austin or virtually this Saturday, April 15 at 3:30 p.m. CDT for the session “How to respond to news avoidance and reconnect with audiences through new approaches.”

Directory spotlight

CNN Newsource

CNN Newsource helps local news providers tell their stories and offers breaking, trending and topical content from CNN and a network of 1,000+ news affiliates.

Dozens of technology companies, foundations, consultants and journalism organizations contribute to ONA’s mission throughout the year. Explore our Industry Directory to discover new tools and potential partners, or learn how to get listed.

Support ONA

There are many ways to help sustain ONA’s mission to inspire and support innovation in digital journalism.

Join as an ONA member
Make a one-time donation
Explore options to reach the ONA community about your event, product, job opening or other opportunity
Invest in ONA programs: Contact Chief Strategic Partnerships Officer Jessica Strelitz, jessica@journalists.org, to learn about philanthropic and corporate support.