ONA (Online News Association) is a group of over 1600 “digital journalists” including writers, producers, designers, editors etc. The group is open to anyone who is interested in online journalism. The “about ONA” section broadly defines their goal or mission as an attempt to “inspire innovation and excellence among digital journalists to better serve the public.” Then it goes on to explain the vision and values of the organization. The site describes ONA as “a leader in the rapidly changing world of journalism…” Their values closely resemble the SPJ code of ethics.
The Home page of the ONA website (journalists.org) provides several links to sub-sections that are full of resources. The “latest news” link takes you to information such as ONA news, Training and Webinars, Conferences and Seminars, Grants and Fellowships and others. The “Discussion” link takes you to forums that cover everything from committees and regional discussions to a guide for the website and blog searches. The “Networking” tab links you to other members of the ONA site. Under “Member Resources” you’ll find Training, Discounts and Legal resources. There are also links to a calendar of events, archives of past events and an awards page.
This site is designed entirely to help journalists learn better ways of disseminating news via the internet. The previous list of content links would be an excellent resource for anyone (not just journalists) that is interested in web-based reporting. The home page updates in real time with the latest pertinent news and dates of interest to online journalists. I give the site a 4 out of 5 based on the amount of access a non-member is granted. The site itself is great but you must be a member to get to the meat of it. A one year membership to ONA costs $75 for professionals, academics and associates. These same members can purchase a three year membership for a reduced rate of $150. Student memberships are $25 annually. Some of the benefits of becoming a member of ONA include: Access to the yearly awards competition and conference. Also, members gain instant access to all of the materials and media offered on the site.
Like most of the sites I have commented on, this site seems to also promote its conferences more than anything. I was rather disappointed in the fact that as a guest you couldn't access very much information on the site. I would have loved to read some professional discussions about the business of journalism, but it was member only. I did like the section over latest news. In the latest news section you could read about how to join and about their conferences, but the part I liked the most was over legal issues. It was interesting to read articles about shield laws and libel. This would be especially helpful to new journalists who don't know much about media law.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Heather that most of the sites are calenders of their organization's conferences. That is a bit frustrating because it seems like these sites designed to enhance journalism would be more than a calender. I do like the overall idea of ONA, but I wish it would be more descriptive in their objective and goals. I think this site would be great for freelance journalist because most journalists working for a company would know how to get their message out online.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of your comments! However I think that the lack of information you can see without a membership is a bit irritating! I think that the web site has a lot of good information to offer but still has a lot of work to do. With the ongoing debate of whether or not companies should charge for content online I think that it would be wise of the company to allow more access as a "free membership trial" so that people will continue to pay for the access to the web site. Overall not a bad site but it definitely could update certain aspects of it!
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