ONA Strengthens Investment in Local Journalists with an Expanded Leadership Training Program

 

By Karolle Rabarison

We are pleased to build on the incredible success of ONA Local the past 11 years and introduce its next iteration, a new training program that emphasizes cohort-based leadership development to connect innovators in local journalism communities. The first cohort of 92 ONA Local organizers represents more than 50 communities, from St. Louis, Phoenix and Baltimore to Mexico City, Argentina and Australia.

ONA Local — a global network of resource-sharing groups for digital journalists — has expanded considerably in recent years. With the support of a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation from 2016 to 2018, we experimented with different ways to launch new groups, build leadership teams and provide ongoing support. During that period, our Meetup network has nearly doubled, now reaching over 14,000 members. We organized ONA Local summits to train organizers in key leadership skills and seed collaborations among community builders who otherwise may not have a chance to connect, and designed a Speakers Bureau initiative to expand training opportunities for local journalists. We also improved the structure of the ONA Local student groups to facilitate opportunities for students to explore digital journalism and collaborate on projects.

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Source: The Online News Association