Futures Lab update #77: Digital insights from the ONA14 conference in Chicago

This week we bring you some key takeaways and an overview of emerging digital trends from the 15th annual Online News Association conference, held Sept. 25-27 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.

PART 1: ONA14 conference recap

This year’s conference of the Online News Association attracted more than 1,700 digital journalists and news innovators. We bring you a recap that identifies several major themes: The growing complexity of devices and platforms; a drive for more sophisticated analytics; the central role of social media in news today; and the integration of new technology and innovation.

Reporting by Reuben Stern and Rachel Wise.

[To skip directly to this segment in YouTube, click here.]

For more information:

• A newsroom staffed by college students provided detailed coverage from the event.
• Short video interviews with many of the presenters from the conference can be found in the ONA14 YouTube channel.
• Our friends at MediaShift also compiled a list of some of the best coverage from around the web.
• And in case you want info on sessions and presenters, here’s the full program schedule.

PART 2: Digital thinking with Meredith Artley

Today’s media landscape calls for news organizations to better understand audience behaviors and to treat digital like “the gem that it is,” says Meredith Artley (@MeredithA), president of the Online News Association and vice president and managing editor of CNN digital. In this sit-down interview she reflects on the growth of the conference and offers further insight on how successful news outlets are thinking across devices.

Reporting by Reuben Stern and Rachel Wise.

[To skip directly to this segment in YouTube, click here.]

PART 3: Tech Trends from Amy Webb

Cognitive computing, algorithmic curation and ephemeral content are among the trends likely to affect journalism in the coming years, according to Amy Webb (@WebbMedia), founder and chief executive officer of Webbmedia Group. We hear from Webb about these and other forces shaping the journalism of tomorrow.

Reporting by Rachel Wise and Reuben Stern.

[To skip directly to this segment in YouTube, click here.]

For more information:

All 10 of this year's tech trends are included in the slide deck from Amy Webb’s ONA 2014 presentation.

Rachel Wise  
 
Video Editor

As video editor at RJI’s Futures Lab, Rachel Wise co-produces and edits the weekly Futures Lab video updates, and produces other video projects at RJI.

Reuben Stern  
 
Director of NYC Partnerships

Reuben Stern is RJI’s director of New York City partnerships and is the director of the Missouri School of Journalism’s New York program.