There are a variety of ways to get involved with ONA’s annual conference, detailed below. Many include complimentary registration.
Subscribe to ONA24 Newsletter for regular updates about the annual conference.
Sponsor the conference
If your organization is looking to connect with innovators in digital media, we provide a wide variety of compelling sponsorship opportunities and can craft something to meet your goals and needs. Reach out to Head of Strategic Partnerships Hanaa Rifaey: hanaa@journalists.org.
Open opportunities
Opportunities that come with a complimentary badge to attend ONA24:
With support from our partners, ONA is offering a limited number of ONA24 registration scholarships in four categories. These scholarships are part of our efforts to make the annual conference as inclusive and accessible as possible and are intended for individuals who would otherwise be unable to attend. We will review applications on a rolling basis through the deadline of Thursday, Sept. 12. We will notify all applicants of their scholarship status no later than Sept. 13.
Scholarship opportunities for ONA24 are generously supported by Democracy Fund and TEGNA Foundation.
This limited opportunity is open to our global community. We will review applications on a rolling basis. The final deadline is Thursday, Sept. 12 at 11:59 p.m. PDT (06:59 UTC).
Open each scholarship page below for information on our supporters, eligibility criteria and the application itself.
ONA relies on its dedicated volunteers to help make ONA24 a warm and welcoming environment. While the initial application period for volunteering at ONA24 has passed, we are accepting applications for the waitlist.
Opportunities that do not come with a complimentary badge:
The ONA24 Resume Drop is open to any digital news professional looking to discuss jobs, internships, academic programs and fellowships for career development. This resource will only be shared with official ONA24 recruiters and program representatives, who will reach out in the weeks leading up to the conference.
Even if you cannot make the conference, you can still include your resume and connect with recruiters from dozens of organizations from local news multinationals.
Moving On Up: Professional Development Training at ONA24
Closed opportunities
Most of the programming for the annual conference comes together through our Suggestion Box, our public call for session and speaker ideas. Our volunteer Program Team reviews all submissions. We expect to share the conference schedule on a rolling basis from June – July. Selected speakers receive a complimentary badge to ONA24.
Submissions for conference programming through the Suggestion Box are now closed. The submission period was March 21 through April 12, 2024.
The 2024 Online Journalism Awards honor excellence in digital journalism around the world. Finalists and winners represent a wide range of nonprofit, public, academic, major media, independent and emerging technology organizations. ONA24 will close with the OJA Luncheon on Friday, Sep. 20 from 1–3p.
The 2024 Online Journalism Awards application process was open from April 4- May 9, 2024.
A group of 150+ volunteers serve as the first set of eyes to evaluate submissions. Over three weeks, screeners review an average of 25-30 submissions across a variety of OJA categories. Their scores and comments ultimately help determine which submissions move to the semi-finalist round of review, where a panel of judges will select finalists and winners.
We look for volunteers with a wide array of expertise, backgrounds and perspectives across the field. If you have experience in reporting, video, audio, data visualization, product, editing, audience engagement, technical innovation and beyond, we encourage you to apply.
Applications for the 2024 OJAs are now closed.
The ONA Midway is the destination for our community to learn about emerging and established tools and products through direct interaction with companies and organizations – including start-ups – and complemented by curated programming. ONA conference attendees come to the Midway for opportunities to learn about and try new products, to dive deeper into the tools they already use and bring back fresh ideas to amplify their news work.
ONA24 will feature several Midway learning sessions, highlighting topics of importance to the ONA community and featuring experts offering perspectives from inside and outside of the global newsroom.
Midway Programming applications are now closed. Learn more.
The Start-Up Alley supports emerging companies looking to disrupt the media and tech industries with fresh ideas. ONA defines start-ups as ventures that have not been operating for more than 24 months and we offer those groups a deeply discounted rate to support participation at our annual conference. Start-ups are allowed to participate in the ONA Start-Up Alley a maximum of two times.
Applications for Start-Up Alley are now closed. Learn more.
Selected students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will receive hands-on experience during ONA24 as part of the HBCU Digital Media Fellowship. The students will create a digital project during the fellowship, as well as participate in mentorship focused on emerging technologies, tools and approaches to reporting and distributing news online.
The application process for the 2024 program closed on May 30.