Membership in the Online News Association connects you with the sharpest minds in digital journalism — multi-platform news professionals who are rethinking the industry, finding innovative ways to tell stories with emerging technology and starting up the news sites of the future.
Members also enjoy a range of benefits, from free and discounted training, conferences and seminars to regional, national and international communities and events.
If you’re already a member, you can access our discounts page, offered specifically to ONA members, by logging in.
If you’re not yet a member, consider joining ONA to take advantage of these great benefits.
All members — professional, associate, academic and student — receive full benefits. Here are some of the many reasons to join ONA:
DISCOUNTS FOR THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND OJAs
- Members get steep discounts on registration fees for the Online News Association Conference, the historically sold-out, state-of-the-art national event offering a premier networking forum and the chance to hear from the leading practitioners and bold-faced names in online news and technology.
- Members also receive discounts on entry fees for the Online Journalism Awards, the only annual awards competition that acknowledges the best and the brightest work in digital news, identifying and publicly honoring models of excellence for the profession, with $37,500 in cash awards, courtesy of the Gannett Foundation and John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
UNPARALLELED NETWORKING
Membership gives you exclusive access to ONA’s online membership directory, as well as these other unique networking opportunities:
- Career Center: ONA’s online job board, open to the entire digital journalism community, offers access to hundreds of career opportunities. For recruiters, we offer a targeted approach that allows you to find only the most relevant candidates, including instant resume access, easy online account management and significant discounts for ONA members. For job seekers, we offer free access to everyone in the journalism community, member and non-members, including confidential resume posting, career-related content and multiple ways to search for jobs. Learn more.
- ONA Local meet-ups: ONA encourages and supports our members in holding regular meet-ups focused on networking, skills and career development, new technology and journalism issues. Check our our growing list of ONA Local cities and activities around the world.
- Social networks: Share, discuss and learn with other members through ONA’s Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn communities that connect educators, students, conference and local event attendees all over the world.
- ONA Issues: Have a burning journalism issue you’d like to learn more about? Join our Tumblr forum, where content — whether breaking news or cool new ideas — is constantly updated.
TRAINING
Our members benefit from ONA’s specialized digital training and significant discounts for events and workshops from our partner organizations, as well as free and low-cost legal help:
- ONACamps, courtesy of $150,000 in grants from the Gannett Foundation, brings free customized sessions and workshops direct to cities that are homes to growing entrepreneurial communities, as well as those hit by media closures. Trainings have been conducted in partnership with the Asian American Journalists Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists.
- Online Media Legal Network: ONA’s partnership with the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society points our members to free or reduced-fee legal help, including advice on forming and governing a business, copyright licensing and fair use, freelancer agreements, access to government information, pre-publication review of content and representation in litigation.
- ONAvation Webinars: For three years, ONA and The Poynter Institute’s News University (NewsU) partnered for state-of-the-art online training webinars, at a discount to ONA members. The series, now archived, features future-think presenters who focus on a range of cutting-edge technologies that add depth and scope to storytelling.
POLICY AND LEGAL ISSUES
- The filing of amicus briefs in court cases important to digital journalists
- The release of position papers on legislation crucial to the work of digital journalists
- Serving as a point of contact for media working on stories on digital news
PUBLICATIONS & TOOLS
- Women’s Media Center: ONA members can request complimentary e-copies of “Unspinning the Spin: The Women’s Media Center Guide to Fair and Accurate Language.” This reference book presents the background, current uses, accuracy, alternatives, and best practices for choosing and decoding common words and phrases, and offers suggestions for bias-free language.
- Nieman Reports: ONA members in the United States receive free print issues of the quarterly magazine published by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
- JPASS: ONA members receive 25% off a one-year JPASS plan. JPASS is a new tool for writers, editors, and researchers looking for story ideas, resource material and in-depth facts and analysis on JSTOR.
- Piano Media: ONA members receive a 20% discount on Piano’s Content Monetization Analysis. Piano Media is the world’s leading content monetization solutions provider, offering four different types of paywalls, from a regional or national solution, to individual metering solutions to simple JavaScript plug and play.