About

The Online News Association’s 2014 Conference & Awards Banquet, Sept. 25-27, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, is the premier gathering of highly engaged digital journalists who are shaping the future of media.

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 map.

They also come to soak up the vibrant entrepreneurial spirit that distinguishes ONA conferences. ONA conference attendees are a tech-savvy bunch. They include producers, content editors, technologists, programmers, designers and newsroom decision-makers from major media markets, independent websites and leading academic institutions interested in emerging practices in news gathering, software, hardware, content and distribution platforms.

In 2013, for the seventh year in a row, our conference sold out, with an all-time high of more than 1,500 attendees traveling to Atlanta from around the world.

On the final night of ONA14, we celebrate excellence in digital journalism around the world at The Online Journalism Awards Banquet.

The OJAs, launched in May 2000, are administered by the Online News Association. Over the past decade, the OJAs have recognized major media, international and independent sites and individuals producing innovative work in multimedia storytelling. The OJA Committee and judges place special emphasis on entries that demonstrate mastery of the special characteristics and emerging technology of digital journalism. Nine of the 29 awards come with a total of $37,500 in prize money, courtesy of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Gannett Foundation, including a new $5,000 award honoring the best in Watchdog Journalism.

Questions? See our general ONA14 FAQ.