FAQs

You can find detailed registration rates on our registration page. The page also covers information about how registration supports ONA, group discounts and other details.

Attending the OJA luncheon requires a separate ticket. You can purchase a ticket at the same time as registration. If you don’t purchase your ticket at the same time as your registration, you can purchase a ticket at any time. See our registration page for details.

ONA will host a Welcome Reception that is open to all attendees on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 5 – 6:30 p.m. that will include wine, beer, a mocktail option and passed appetizers. For those attendees who opted to purchase the separate ticket to attend the Online Journalism Awards Ceremony on Friday, Sept. 20 from 1 – 3 p.m., lunch will be included. Otherwise, meals are not included as part of an ONA24 registration pass.

Some sponsors are hosting meal events such as breakfasts, lunches and receptions. These events have limited capacity and are require advanced sign-up.

Some sponsors may have food and beverages at their booth spaces in the Midway Exhibit Hall, located in Regency Ballroom.

For those looking for easy food options, the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Downtown is connected by a skywalk to the Peachtree Center, which has numerous eating options, including a coffee shop, as well as a pharmacy and other services.

Yes, our registration platform allows you to do this directly. Please check your confirmation email from registration@journalists.org. 

RSVP and sign-up opportunities for ONA24 begin in August.

If you have not yet registered for ONA24, you will see available opportunities for advance sign-up in your registration process.

If you have already registered for ONA24, registered attendees will receive an email from registration@journalists.org inviting them to sign-up for workshops or sessions that require advance sign-up.

• Check your inbox for a confirmation and/or invitation email from registration@journalists.org, which will include your personalized registration account link. Click on that link.
• Under your registration details, click the Select Courses and Events button. Scroll down to specific sessions or use the search bar to find a sponsor name.
• Click Continue to see either a confirmation of the session(s) you selected, or the payment page if applicable. The confirmation page will feature a green box listing the session(s) selected. Please print or screenshot this page for your records.

To make sure you get future emails about your ONA24 pass and other conference updates, add registration@journalists.org and newsletter@journalists.org to your contacts.

Information gathered from attendees during registration helps us see trends and patterns, as well as plan programming, networking activities and events. ONA does not sell attendee contact information and we work to keep your contact information secure. Read more about how we handle guest information.

We’ve been notified that some attendees have received emails from companies claiming to have access to ONA conference attendee lists. We do not sell or rent our attendee list, and we do not have a relationship with any of these companies. We encourage anyone who receives any outreach about attendee lists to not click on any links or respond

If you require a U.S. visa to attend ONA24, you may request a confirmation of registration document only after you have completed registration for a full ONA24 pass and paid the conference registration fee, if applicable. Please note: ONA will not provide visa support letters for day-pass registrants; you must be registered for the full ONA24 conference.

To request a letter from ONA for your visa application, please fill out this form.

If your visa application is not approved or you are otherwise unable to attend ONA24, your registration and/or OJA banquet ticket purchase will be refunded in full and you will not incur an administrative fee by ONA. Please note that refunds for foreign transactions may be subject to fees charged by your financial institution and that ONA is not responsible for any such fees. Request a registration refund or transfer.

The first look at the ONA24 schedule was released in early June. Additional sessions will be added through August.

As the premier gathering of highly engaged digital journalists who are shaping the future of media, ONA’s annual conference offers interactive learning sessions, in-depth workshops, community-connecting gatherings, career-boosting guidance opportunities, and networking events with some of the most innovative minds in digital news media. Attendees are a diverse professional community, including audience and analytics experts; news product, strategy and business executives and entrepreneurs; and editors, reporters and broadcasters. Our participants range from experienced veterans at international news outlets to representatives from major tech companies to leaders of local news startups to those just getting started in their media careers.

ONA24 programming is primarily focused in two areas:

• Journalism + AI and emerging technology
• Leadership, career development and culture

Additional experiences at the conference may focus on:

• Audience development + metrics
• Revenue strategy
• News product management

The majority of programming for the ONA annual conference comes through a public submission process called the Suggestion Box. The submission period was March 21 through April 12, 2024. To learn when the ONA25 Suggestion Box will open, subscribe to the conference newsletter to receive a notification.

ONA24 will be an in-person experience in Atlanta for registered attendees focused on interactive learning and community connection. Livestreaming will not be available.

ONA offers year-round virtual programming. Check out our events calendar for upcoming opportunities and be sure to subscribe to the ONA Weekly newsletter for the most up-to-date announcements..

RSVP and sign-up opportunities for ONA24 begin in August.

If you have not yet registered for ONA24, you will see available opportunities for advance sign-up in your registration process.

If you have already registered for ONA24, registered attendees will receive an email from registration@journalists.org inviting them to sign-up for workshops or sessions that require advance sign-up.

• Check your inbox for a confirmation and/or invitation email from registration@journalists.org, which will include your personalized registration account link. Click on that link.
• Under your registration details, click the Select Courses and Events button. Scroll down to specific sessions or use the search bar to find a sponsor name.
• Click Continue to see either a confirmation of the session(s) you selected, or the payment page if applicable. The confirmation page will feature a green box listing the session(s) selected. Please print or screenshot this page for your records.

To make sure you get future emails about your ONA24 pass and other conference updates, add registration@journalists.org and newsletter@journalists.org to your contacts.

Yes! For any sessions that did not have a cost associated with participating, you can follow the same instructions used to sign up for the session to cancel that sign-up. If you would like to sign-up for another opportunity instead, you will be able to do so in the same process.

For sessions you paid an additional fee as part of your sign-up, please email support@journalists.org with the session name to initiate the refund process.

Before the ONA24 app and live event website open:

• Find an ONA24 confirmation and/or invitation email from registration@journalists.org, which will include your personalized registration account link. Click on that link.
• If you any of the event sign-ups had a payment associated with participating, you will see that session listed on your personal confirmation page below the payment details for your registration pass.
• For sessions without payment associated, click on the Select Events and Courses button. The session(s) you signed up for will appear selected.
• Click on the continue button to see the green confirmation page with all of your advance sign-ups listed. Print or screenshot this page for your records.

After the ONA24 app and live event website open, you will be able to login to your conference account where you will see any events you previously signed up to attend already listed in your personal schedule.

All attendees will receive an email if a spot opens up on the guest list for an event that allows them to be moved from the waitlist.

Please note: each of the limited-capacity ONA24 sponsored meal events (breakfasts, lunches, and receptions) are at capacity for their respective guest and waitlists.

While the majority of ONA24 programming does not advance sign-up, certain workshops and meal events do require some form of it. For workshops and learning events, this is to ensure ONA and our partners can deliver a high quality experience for its participants. For example, certain types of interactive programming requires a smaller group setting. Advance sign-up can also allow facilitators to communicate ahead of the event with participants.

With the exception of the Welcome Reception on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. that is open to all ONA24 attendees, meal events (breakfasts, lunches and receptions) are capped due to space and cost considerations for the sponsoring hosts.

Many RSVP-related opportunities at ONA24 have limited capacity. Keep an eye on your inbox for emails from registration@journalists.org regarding available opportunities. Please note that some sponsored meal events may initially target specific segments of the ONA community before opening to all attendees. If an event you wish to attend is full, add your name to the waitlist. Historically, spots often become available as people’s schedules change.

This information is copied from the ONA24 Accessibility page.

What to expect from ONA24

• Most presentations will be given in English.
• We require participants to adhere to our Code of Conduct. To report a problem, you can email safety@journalists.org. For transparency, this email forwards to:
  • Head of Finance and Administration Liz Leith
  • Learning Director Kelsey Proud
  • Director of Programs Meghan Murphy
• Privacy is important for many members of our community. We ask anyone taking screenshots or photographs to be mindful of others and ask permission whenever possible.
• We are focused on the best possible in-person experience, so livestreams will not be available for sessions.

On site at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta

• All floors at our host hotel are served by elevators.
• All official ONA events are held on property, including our welcome reception. Please note that partner organizations may host off-site events at venues of varying proximities to the host hotel.
• Visit Hyatt’s website for details about hotel amenities and rooms or call +1.404.577.1234 to speak to their team.
• A caregiver / nursing room will be provided. Please note guests will need to sign up in advance for a time. This space is available to anyone who needs a private place to pump or breastfeed. A refrigerator will be available in the room for temporary storage.

The host hotel offers complimentary wifi to guests staying at ONA’s discounted rate. If you book at our special rate before sellout, you’ll have wifi included in your room free of charge.

Wifi access is included with your conference registration. You will receive a password when you check in at the conference registration desk. Attendees are often trying to connect with multiple devices, so like any conference, we do experience latency / outages from time to time that we work quickly to resolve.

Yes. There are two private rooms available to reserve for 45-minute blocks of time, each with a refrigerator. Login to the live event website to learn more and reserve a time.

Beyond common sense attire for a professional hotel setting, there’s no set dress code. Most attendees dress anywhere from business casual to casual, including jeans in many cases. Comfortable shoes are a must for walking through the large hotel space.

Please note that Atlanta likely will be very hot outdoors in September, and you’ll want to dress in light-weight clothes. Hotels try to keep conference rooms cool for presenters, but temperatures can fluctuate based on heating/cooling cycles and capacity. You may want to consider an extra layer for indoor activities in case it’s cool.

The Welcome Reception on Wednesday, Sept. 18 that is open to all participants will be held primarily inside of the hotel, with some access to an outdoor pool deck area.

Event hosts are not allowed to bring in outside food and beverages for events hosted at most hotels, including the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Downtown. Instead, hosts must order food and beverages from the hotel’s catering department.

The cost for catering coffee at ONA24 would be $120/gallon + taxes and fees of $44.66/gallon. This equates to each 8 oz. cup of black drip coffee costing $10.29. Alternatively, the hotel’s catering has an option for coffee, soda and water available over a set five-hour period each day at a cost of $52.14/person per day.

These cost options exceed what ONA can reasonably spend while keeping the registration price at the current rates.

Coffee and other beverages are available in the Lobby Market on the main lobby level of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta as well as across the skywalk at the Caribou Coffee in the Peachtree Center (which has a mobile ordering option).

Exhibitor/Attendee Housing Scam Notice: At past events, we’ve been notified that several exhibitors and conference attendees have received calls and/or emails from companies claiming to be an agent of, or associated with, ONA and offering discounted room rates. We do not have a relationship with any of these companies. All bookings should be made directly with our host hotel.

Read more on this issue.

ONA’s Code of Conduct lays out clear expectations for staff, supporters, volunteers, speakers and attendees to create a welcoming and inclusive gathering. If you would like to report any issues, email safety@journalists.org. This address forwards to ONA staff members Meghan Murphy, Director of Programs, and Kelsey Proud, Learning Director.

Gathering in large groups carries inherent health risks. If you feel sick, take care and stay home or in your hotel room. ONA24 is a mask-friendly and mask-optional environment. We encourage attendees to do what is best for their health and take precautions as necessary. We will have masks, hand sanitizer and typical first aid supplies available.