Blog

In case you missed it, the Online News Association will hold its next conference in San Francisco.

Sound familiar? That’s because we did it already in 2009.  In between the two California stops, the organization will have scheduled two East Coast conference locations (Washington D.C. and Boston).

When does this game of bi-coastal ping-pong stop?

There’s this big expanse of land between California and Boston that includes a handful of the top journalism colleges and universities (Northwestern, Missouri, Texas, Kansas) yet ONA has never held a conference in the Midwest or the South.

To that end, one of the two sessions I’ve pitched for ONA11 is to create a place for non-coastal journalists to talk journalism and innovation and how we can better market what the rest of the country has to offer.

But beyond my personal qualms with some of the movers and shakers in our industry, there’s also a financial point to this argument: San Francisco (twice!), Washington D.C. (twice!) and Boston aren’t inexpensive cities.  At a time when many journalists are being laid off, shouldn’t organizations be a little bit more budget-friendly when they plan events?

I think it’s so cool that the Asian American Journalists Association is headed to Detroit this summer. It’s a new venue for the organization in a very neat city that’s looking to rebuild.  I must admit, I’m tempted to attend just because it offers something new.

I attended ONA09 during my final semester of college and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a reach to be able to afford it.  In fact, the majority of the conference expenses went on a credit card to be paid off along with college loans and moving experiences. It concerns me to think that location and pricing could be a turn-off for young journalists attempting to launch their careers.

After talking with a few close friends, I came to the conclusion that I’m not without good cause. But, instead of launching into a Twitter/bloggy tirade, I decided to approach ONA’s leaders with some of my concerns.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s a fabulous organization, but I believe the coastal bias is getting old and is stymieing our efforts to grow a diverse membership.

Here’s an excerpt from the letter I wrote to ONA executive director Jane McDonnell board president Christine Montgomery.  Normally, letter-writing campaigns aren’t my cup of tea, but I feel like people don’t have the right to complain about a practice if they haven’t made an effort to open a dialog.  No response yet, but it’s only Monday.

I’m writing to express my extreme disappointment at the Online News Association for the repeated failure to look outside of coastal cities for conference sites and the selection of San Francisco as the 2012 conference site.

It reinforces the geographic bias in this industry that innovative journalism and media activities are confined to the East and West Coasts, a belief that is both appalling and factually incorrect.

At a time when many in our industry grapple with grave budget challenges, it is fiscally irresponsible to continue to hold conferences in such expensive locales, making the experience out of reach for many individuals that might like to attend, learn and share in the ONA network.

I’ll update you guys if I get a response, but I also have a question:

What’s your ideal conference locale? Not ideal is in “super-cute place I’d like to go because it’s sunny and I really need a vacation (because don’t we all?)” Dream as in location that offers the perfect mix of amenities that would make you likely to go there.

UPDATE: I just received a response from ONA’s Christine Montgomery:

Hi, Juana -

We made a decision a few years ago to alternate the ONA conference each year on the East and West coasts to accommodate our growing international membership, as well as make it easy for all to fly in and out of a major hub. But yes, while flights are comparable, the trade-off is higher hotel fees in big cities. We try to negotiate the best rates for our members, but there’s not doubt, attending this conference is going to cost $1000 +/-.

We try to mitigate some of that with regional events, and have targeted towns where major media shops have downsized or closed down altogether, so that we can offer (in these cases) free training to journalists who might need it most.

But know that Jane and I will report your concerns to the Board, and talk about whether we are doing all we can to make the conference accessible to all of our members (or potential members).

As someone who has spent may years working in small towns, I totally agree: there is great, innovative journalism happening all over the country!

Look forward to meting in person -
Christine

1 Comment for this entry

1 Trackback or Pingback for this entry