ONA, Poynter Team Up for Innovative Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Online News Association (ONA) and The Poynter Institute will partner to create an intensive, tuition-free leadership program that addresses the unique needs of women in digital media.

The ONA-Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media, April 12-17, 2015, at Poynter's campus in St. Petersburg, Fla., will focus on critical skills for women moving up the ladder in digital journalism and technology organizations and the documented challenges they face on the path to leadership.

This partnership will combine the resources of the world's leading digital media organization, ONA, with the global leader in professional journalism education, The Poynter Institute.

The four-and-a-half day program for 25 promising women leaders will include guidance on the business of journalism, individual leadership style, navigating newsroom culture, entrepreneurship and one-on-one coaching. Poynter and ONA will collaborate to build an agile, interactive curriculum led by prominent women faculty in the startup, tech, media and academic fields.

Applicants will be screened for potential, need and diversity across ethnicity, age, geography, technology platforms and skill sets. Applications will open in early January 2015.

ONA and Poynter are seeking seed funding from media and technology companies, foundations and academic institutions to keep this transformative learning experience tuition-free.

"You don't have to look far to see the impassioned conversations around women advancing in digital media culture," said Jane McDonnell, ONA Executive Director. "We want to strengthen the pipeline and encourage open, candid discussion and networking, so women walk away with not only strong skills, but a built-in support system."

"Poynter realizes the critical need for training and support to ensure that the best and brightest fill the ranks of leadership in media and technology," said Poynter President Tim Franklin. "We also recognize that the number of women in those leadership roles is too small. Our goal with ONA is to increase the opportunities for women and to grow their numbers in leadership positions."

For more information on curriculum and applications, contact Andrew DeLong at [email protected].

For more information on providing financial support, please contact Kim Tobin, Marketing and Communications Strategy Manager, or Jess Strelitz, ONA Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships, at [email protected]. 

About The Poynter Institute

The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is an international leader in journalism education, and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world's largest online journalism curriculum in 6 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 300,000 registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute's website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world's top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.

About the Online News Association
The Online News Association is the world's largest association of digital journalists. ONA's mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. Membership includes journalists, technologists, executives, academics and students who produce news for and support digital delivery systems. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.

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SOURCE The Poynter Institute

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