UPDATE: The entry deadline has been extended to July 8, 5 p.m. ET.
So you decided you want to go to ONA13. Especially after you saw all your journalist friends on Twitter tweeting about it last year. But then you saw how much it costs. So you pitched it to your editor, hoping you might be able to talk him into covering the expenses as a business trip. He laughed, and told you to get back to work.
You’ve come to the right place, because we might be able to help you.
Every year, there are thousands of journalists who miss out on events like the ONA Conference or NICAR because they don’t have the time, money or support to go. This is an unfortunate reality for many of our smaller newsrooms in Digital First Media.
The ONA (Online News Association) Conference in particular attracts journalists from every corner of the industry with the opportunity to muse on advancements, learn about new tools and to discuss solutions to the challenges we face. The knowledge, advice and ideas unlocked at ONA each year make this event worth every penny that it costs. Which means it doesn’t come cheap. If a non ONA-member waits till the last minute to sign up, it will cost $949 to get into this year’s event in Atlanta. (Non-member students can go for $175.)
With that said, it is my pleasure to announce the first program of our Digital First Represents series. We are recruiting to send five journalists from different Digital First Media newsrooms to ONA13 this October. These five will be awarded with admission to ONA13 and hotel lodging during the conference in Atlanta, Oct. 17-19.
But we aren’t looking for journalists who simply want to go and learn some cool tricks of the trade. We are looking for ambassadors who can bottle up the tips and excitement at ONA and bring it back to their newsrooms. Each of the five will be expected to live tweet one session or keynote and to contribute at least two blog posts here on InsideThunderdome.com about the experience and what they learned.
ABOUT THE ENTRY PROCESS (Deadline: July 5 July 8)
It’s pretty simple to enter. If you want to go, fill out the form below. This contest is only open to journalists who currently work in a Digital First Media newsroom, and have done so for at least one year. The deadline to fill out the entry form is 5 p.m. ET, next Friday, July 5 July 8.
On July 15, we will announce 20 finalists right here on InsideThunderdome.com, and will let the rest up to you by putting the final selection to a vote. The five finalists who can corral the most votes in the following week will be our ambassadors for ONA13.
The five winners will be announced on July 22.
If you have any questions about the entry process, the contest or ONA, leave a comment or email me directly at cmarch@digitalfirstmedia.com.
ABOUT ONA13
ONA13 will take place at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, from Oct. 17 – 19, 2013. For more information, check out the ONA13 website.
NOTE TO DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA EDITORS
Admission and hotel lodging in Atlanta will be covered for all five winners, but travel expenses will not be covered by this program. On the entry form, we ask that each entrant request permission for travel expenses from their editor first. While you may receive a few requests for travel expenses, we will only be sending five employees. If chosen, they will be in Atlanta from October 17-19.
COMING SOON: 3 OTHERS TO ATTEND NICAR14
This isn’t the only chance Digital First journos will have to represent Digital First this year. We will soon announce details for a similar contest to send three others to NICAR in 2014. Digital First Media journalists interested in data journalism and NICAR14 should email Tom Meagher at tmeagher@digitalfirstmedia.com if not already a member of DFM’s data journalism Google group.