ONA accepting entries for the 2019 Online Journalism Awards

Online News Association President Mandy Jenkins welcomes attendees to the 2018 Online Journalism Awards in Austin, TX. The 2019 awards will be held on Sept. 14 in New Orleans. (Photo for ONA)

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2019 — The Online News Association has opened the call for entries for the 2019 Online Journalism Awards (OJAs), honoring the best in digital journalism. This year’s awards feature 37 categories open for submissions and $58,500 in prize money, thanks to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Gannett Foundation, the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and Journalism 360.

For 2019, new and updated categories include:

• Excellence in Engaged Journalism: This award honors people and projects that work with a community as part of a story or reporting process. ONA would like to acknowledge the Gather team’s support in defining this category.

• Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling: This award has been refined to recognize three types of storytelling: Ongoing Series, Limited Series and Use of Audio Storytelling.

• Digital Video Storytelling: This award honors strong and innovative work in telling stories through digital video, including animation.

The OJAs recognize outstanding achievement by major media, independent outlets and individuals around the world. In 2018, the awards received more than 1,100 entries from 36 countries.

Leading journalists and digital media professionals will screen all entries to select semi-finalists. Then a diverse panel of judges will convene to determine finalists and winners. In their evaluation, judges will consider overall excellence and digital innovation in addition to impact on a community.

Winners this year will join the ranks of recent honorees such as Miami Herald (Explanatory Reporting, Breaking News); AJ+ Español, Animal Político and Pop-Up Newsroom (Collaboration and Partnerships); LA NACION (Audio Digital Storytelling); The Marshall Project (General Excellence); and The New York Times (Sports, Breaking News, Online Commentary).

The 2019 OJAs are open to work published between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019. The deadline to submit entries for consideration is June 6, 2019, 11:59 p.m. EDT. Winners will be announced at the 2019 Online News Association Conference and Awards Ceremony, Sept. 12-14, in New Orleans.

Some categories recognize finalists and winners for different newsroom sizes. To determine an organization’s size, an entrant should count employees and external resources — e.g. contractors and freelancers — who work on the digital side directly or indirectly, with full-time equivalency.

All entrants are encouraged to review the full Rules and Eligibility before starting their submission.

Entries can be submitted at journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co/awards.

To learn more about the awards, explore winning work from 2018.

About Online News Association

The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of online 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. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association Conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.