Leading Digital Journalists to Converge in New York City

Leading Digital Journalists to Converge in New York City

Early Bird Registration Opens and Panels Announced

BETHESDA, Md., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- It's time to register for the 2005 Online News Association annual conference and Online Journalism Awards Banquet, Oct. 28-29 at the Hilton New York, in New York.

Even though the ONA has one of the lower conference registration fees, don't wait until the very last second to register. Prices will go up on September 9th and the conference hotel will book solid as well.

The registration fee breakdown for this year's conference is:

1) During the early bird registration period (June 15 to Sept. 9), ONA members who are professionals, associates or academics can register for $349. This includes the entire conference and OJA awards banquet. After Sept. 9, this price goes up to $399.

2) We want to give students a break, so ONA Student members (student ID required) can attend the entire conference, including the awards banquet for $150. If they prefer only to attend the conference, and skip the awards, it's $100. This registration fee remains the same after Sept. 9.

3) Non-members do not receive an early bird price, and pay $499 for the entire conference and awards banquet from now until the conference. (If you have people in your organization who have been thinking of joining the ONA, or who you might want to attend the conference, there is a real incentive to get them to join the ONA before Sept 9, because you'll save at least $100 per registration, even if you include the $50 membership fee.)

4) Student non-members (still need to show that student ID) pay $200 to attend the entire conference, including the awards banquet and $150 if they want to go to the conference, but skip the awards.

5) Anyone can register to attend only the OJA banquet on Saturday night, Oct. 29th. The cost is $150.

This year's conference in being held at the Hilton New York. It's right in the heart of Manhattan, a block from MOMA, two blocks from Central Park.

The ONA rate is $230 a night. The hotel has made a limited number of rooms available to the ONA at this price. Once those rooms are gone, they are gone.

Online Registration
If you would like to register for the ONA conference, go to:
https://www.123signup.com/register?id=fccqx

The URL for conference information is:
https://www.123signup.com/event?id=fccqx

If you have registered, but need to change or cancel your registration,
the URL is: https://www.123signup.com/change?id=fccqx

The URL for the ONA page for registering at the Hilton New York is:
http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/private_groups/nycnhhh_onl/index.jhtml

ONA 2005 Conference Panels

Web Analytics

How do you measure the effectiveness of your Web site? What kind of research do you need to make your site even more effective? During the session we'll find out what the word "effective" means to your audience, editorial staff, your advertiser, marketer and management. At the end of the session we'll compile your ideas and definitions and prioritize them to help you determine how to make your site even more successful.

Working Without a Net: Ethics and Issues in Personal Publishing.

Chances are, everyone in online news has had that uncomfortable feeling: Is this story (often, breaking news) going to be sufficiently fact-checked, sourced, organized -- and copy edited before we post it? You've probably felt you were working without a safety net. As the online landscape evolves, we can all expect to host more user-generated content, and our future viewers may expect high standards of credibility and accuracy for that content. How can we ensure standards of accuracy that live up to our audience's and our profession's expectations? Also up for discussion: The ethical and rights issues surrounding user-submitted photos and text; the standards for linking to others' news reports and blogs; and, not least of all, how to find the time to monitor all this great new content.

Working with Your Newsroom: Changing Your Attitude So You Can Change Theirs.

You wrote off the legacy newsroom years ago when it was obvious "they don't get it," and went in search of fresh content. If you still haven't found it, turn around, look at what you left behind. They're not just "getting it" -- they're doing it. Watch what happens when we match up some skeptical online pioneers (you) with some newsroom types who DID hear us way back when, and have been busy proving it -- from graphic artists who learned Flash to reporters who are podcasting to newsrooms that have changed their structures and workflow to meet the future head-on. Even if you are a pure-play site, this might open your eyes to some new sources of content and new ways of operating.

Blogging 'How to'

Just because you can blog doesn't mean you should. As many media outlets are getting into blogging, they're discovering that it's not as easy as it looks to capture an audience. That's because many of them don't have a content plan, or they're simply taking print writers and turning them loose on the Web. You must truly engage the audience in interactivity, and/or make the blog a "one-stop info shop" that aggregates niche news in one place, making it easier for readers. There are a few good examples, from Spokane, Greensboro, Seattle and elsewhere. And there are lots and lots of bad examples.

International: Broadening the Bandwidth

A practical and eye-opening look at what digital journalists are doing around the world, this panel will feature speakers from international news sites who will share the details of their successful innovation in digital news gathering, production and dissemination. Panelists from these ground- breaking newsrooms will discuss what they are doing to report news, not just process it, by embracing audience-generated content from blogs to podcasting. From a variety of cultures and backgrounds, these presenters will provide fresh perspectives on the changing role of the digital journalist, which should spark lively debate and a robust exchange of ideas.

Defining Online Journalism

Don't stammer for an answer the next time someone asks "what exactly do you do?" Audience members will work together in this session to craft a wiki -- in real time -- that defines the skills and methods we use to create online journalism. And that wiki will live online after the conference has ended.

What's Still New in New Media?

The Web as a news delivery vehicle is approaching 10 years old. With more than a third of Americans saying their preferred method for getting news is the Internet, the phrase "new media" no longer seems to describe online news. Today, new technologies such as RSS, podcasting, e-mail, SMS and more have replaced the Web as the "new" in new media. And in a bit of irony, the Web's content management systems that were built to overcome the shortcoming of newspaper publishing systems have become the new legacy systems that can slow the adoption of new technologies and delivery vehicles. This session looks at both the technical and pragmatic implications of these new technologies. Just exactly what is RSS or SMS and how can you adopt them in your organization? And in adopting them, what does it mean for how you write headlines or structure stories?

Participatory Journalism

What's that all about? Blogs, phlogs, wikis, Web casts, podcasts, "reply" links and online forums are boons to interactive and grassroots journalism, but they bring new, nettlesome challenges. In this session, journalists using these leading-edge forms of two-way reporting check in on their use and potential misuse as well as their practicality. Panel attendees will have to work hard to leave without at least one new idea to try out.

The Latest from Legal.

A moderated discussion with the industry's top lawyers, hosted by Jon Hart of Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, who wrote the book on Internet law. Among the hot topics: With increasing attention to blogging and other user-created content, we'll discuss a Web site's liability for third-party postings. The Supreme Court's decision in the Grokster file-sharing case, the most important technology-related case in 20 years, has implications for every site that provides access to any technology that can be used for infringing, as well as lawful, non-infringing purposes. Jurisdiction remains a troubling topic -- where can a publisher be required to defend its work, and which country's laws prevail, when content can go anywhere at the click of a mouse? The settlement in the National Writers' Union suit against online publishers will also be of interest. And contextual advertising, adware and spyware are under scrutiny by the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, and the courts. We'll discuss the latest developments.

Source: Online News Association

CONTACT: Tom Regan, Executive Director of Online News Association,
+1-617-698-5252, Fax: +1-617-698-5252, tregan@journalists.org

Web site: http://www.onlinenewsassociation.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: To receive future news releases via email regarding the ONA conference and competition, please send an email to Jonathan.Evans@prnewswire.com with 'ONA NEWS' in the subject line.

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