Raju Narisetti receives ONA’s 2020 Rich Jaroslovsky Founder Award

We are pleased to announce the Online News Association Board of Directors has granted the 2020 Rich Jaroslovsky Founder Award to Raju Narisetti for his outstanding contributions to digital journalism and dedication to ONA’s mission, vision and values.

Raju currently serves as Publisher of McKinsey Publishing at McKinsey & Company. Through his 30-plus year career in media, he has created, reimagined and managed major media organizations in North America, Europe and Asia, and has been on the frontlines of digital transformation challenges and new ventures in publishing. To learn more about Raju’s achievements as a pioneering journalist, media business executive and journalism educator, click here

In accepting the Founder Award, Raju shared that this honor comes in a unique year when there have been significant conversation and action around representation in newsrooms.

“These awards have a lifetime achievement feel to it, but our work is not done, my work is not done, ONA’s work is not done” he said. “Our newsrooms still don’t reflect what our audiences and societies look like. So I take this as a signal that I need to do more — that we all need to do more — to make sure that women and people of color have their rightful leadership role in newsrooms.”

“Our winner this year has an impressive career, but is perhaps best known for being a coach and advocate for so many others,” said ONA Board President Shazna Nessa.

Watch the announcement video to hear from current ONA Board members and ONA co-founder Rich Jaroslovsky why Raju deserves the 2020 Founder Award.

The Online Journalism Awards are the only comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism around the world. We are excited to announce the recipients of the 2020 James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting and the 2020 ONA Community Award on Tuesdays, Sept. 22 and Sept. 29, respectively. Tune in at 1 p.m. ET / 17:00 UTC each announcement day for the big reveal.

The 2020 OJAs also honor exceptional journalism work through 42 prizes across 19 categories, selected from 1,164 entries submitted to a competitive judging process. Explore inspiring projects from the 2020 finalists. Winners will be announced at virtual awards events throughout the 2020 Online News Association Conference (ONA20), Oct. 1–16. Register now to join us for two weeks of learning, networking and celebrating of the impact of digital journalism.