Online journalists should look beyond the US

The ONA is ostensibly an international organisation yet it is largely defined by its American origins. A quick glance at the schedule (PDF) reflects the US dominance, with few speakers from beyond the continent.

This US bias can be found elsewhere. For example, the nominees for the ONA awards, honouring the best in online journalism, are largely dominated by US news outlets.

The entries are all in English, which goes some way to explaining the heavy US presence in the nominees. But this does not explain the absence of any sites from other English-speaking countries, such as the UK or Australia.

And it cannot be explained by arguing that there is no good quality online journalism taking place outside the US.  There are, at least, a couple of Canadian newspapers among the shortlist.

The awards are open to all so the ONA should be asking itself why there are so few non-American sites among the shortlist.

For the first time this year, there is an award for non-English language entries, with nominees from Germany, Spain, Brazil, France and the US.

This award came about largely due to the work of the International Committee of the ONA. This is a group within the organisation made up of international members.

It seems ironic that there should be an International Committee for what should be an international organisation. The ONA is not the Online News Association of America - the ONAA.

On the ONA site, the International Committee is described as:

A subcommittee of the Membership Services committee, as part of the ONA’s mission to reach out to online journalists from all around the world.

But the very need for an International Committee to spread the word beyond US shores highlights the shortcomings of the ONA.

Reaching beyond the US should be a key mission of the whole organisation, and not just left to a group of dedicated international members.

The ONA has much going for it. It has become the premier organisation for online news professionals.

As the organisation prepares to mark its 10th anniversary next year, and with a new executive director Jane McDonnell, this is the time for the ONA to expand and become a truly global force in digital journalism.