LIVE BLOG: Recapping the 2012 Online News Association Conference

5:03 p.m. Microsoft Application Development Lab attendant helps us connect with ONA Northwestern students via Skype. Technology struggles...

5:08 p.m. We can hear ONA Northwestern students loud and clear!

5:10 p.m. MU Futures Lab Director Mike McKean says the biggest takeaway of the conference is that ONA is the most diverse and active journalism organization out there. He says based on what he learned in conference sessions, MU journalism is preparing students for the real world.

5:15 p.m. McKean says MU alums Meredith Artley of CNN.com and Juana Summers of Politico are influential in ONA.

5:25 p.m. McKean says young professionals need to be proficient and current in social media skills, as well as have knowledge of coding and programming. Many organizations want to approach multimedia projects as a team. That means it could be good to specialize instead of being a "jack of all trades."

One session discussed "making apps like lasagna." That means they're made with uncluttered layers, so they are easy to navigate. News aggregation apps are also becoming more popular. This includes Columbia's own Newsy, as well as Newsala.

EVENT ALERT: Recapping the Online News Association Conference

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 27, 5 p.m.

WHERE: 42 Walter Williams

The 2012 Online News Association Conference, one of the nation’s largest digital journalism gatherings, happened last week in San Francisco -- and ONA Mizzou is highlighting the event for those of us who couldn’t make it. Join ONA Mizzou, ONA Northwestern, Futures Lab Director Mike McKean, RJI Communications Director Brian Steffens and other faculty members as they share what they learned at #ONA12. We'll  focus on innovations you can add to your journalism repertoire today.

Come with questions and your game face: We'll be playing Buzzword Bingo (we'll explain, don't worry) for the chance to win fabulous ONA12 gear.

Itching to read about the conference before Thursday? Check out coverage from the conference's student newsroom, Gannett's ONA12 Tumblr and Poynter's "12 bite-size takeaways" from the event.

Also, we highlighted three conference sessions in a post last week.

Can't go to the 2012 Online News Association Conference? Learn from it anyway.

By Andrew Gibson

Not everyone can go to the 2012 Online News
Association Conference, but that doesn't mean you
can't learn from ONA12.

Thursday marks the start of what might be the world's most talent laden and genuinely awesome gatherings of digital journalists.

The 2012 Online News Association Conference, happening in San Francisco through Saturday, features the likes of Liz Heron, Wall Street Journal social media and engagement director, and Juana Summers, a Politico national reporter -- and 2009 Missouri School of Journalism graduate -- who's been following around GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan.

In other words, Thursday marks the start of three heavenly days.

And of course, you're not going.

Well, neither am I. But there's still something you can do: scan the conference schedule. Maybe that sounds boring, but if you take five minutes, you might read about a session that intrigues you. Maybe something you want to learn about on your own. It's not necessary to fly west to learn data journalism, you know.

(For the record, ONA will livestream some parts of the conference. You should also follow the #ONA12 hashtag.)

Here are three sessions that caught my eye:

Letters Home: Jennifer Lerner

Jennifer Lerner is vice president at
Fleishman-Hillard in Kansas City. She
graduated from the Missouri School of
Journalism in 1998 with a degree in
broadcast journalism.

The following letter was submitted June 26, 2012

Dear ONA Mizzou Students,

What a fantastic moment – you’re about to embark into the next chapter in your journalism career. I vividly remember my graduation day from the MU School of Journalism 14 (!) or so years ago. Elizabeth Vargas from ABC News (also a Mizzou alum) gave the commencement address, and I was about to venture off to Nashville to begin my career as a weekend morning news producer. I was hopeful. I was idealistic. I would eventually work my way up to the ranks of Executive Producer and beyond!

Seven years later, I found myself going over to, what my newsie friends called, the ‘the dark side’.

That’s right. In 2005, I, Jennifer (Hankes) Lerner, broadcast news producer, graduate of the best J-School in the country, made a career change and became a public relations professional. (Gasp!)

Facebook mobile-ad revenue expected to grow, but still looking for business model

By Erin Dismeier

Facebook's mobile-ad revenue is projected to grow, but
the service is still looking for a sustainable mobile model.

Facebook or Twitter?  Even though Facebook achieved popularity sooner, a recent report by online marketing-research firm eMarketer shows Twitter in 2012 will take in more U.S. mobile-ad revenue than Facebook.

This is partially because Promoted Tweets, a huge ad-revenue source for Twitter, are well-integrated into the service's "core user experience," making the "shift toward displaying mobile advertisements relatively simple," according to eMarketer. 

"Dick Costolo, Twitter CEO, boasts that Twitter was developed with mobile in mind," according to Digital Trends. "As the company began selling mobile ads earlier this year, just weeks into its mobile ad program, the company garnered more ad revenue from its Promoted Tweets program on its mobile platform than on its desktop app."

EVENT ALERT: Students share their internship experiences

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 13, 5 p.m.

WHERE: 42 Walter Williams

Missouri School of Journalism students interned this summer at a variety of news organizations, from The Denver Post to the Student Press Law Center. Join the Online News Association at Mizzou and the Society of Professional Journalists for a panel in which a handful of those students share what they learned, answer questions and pass on advice to others seeking internships.

Where's the BuzzFeed in New York Times' convention coverage?

  By Stacey Welsh

This is an update to Stacey Welsh's June 23 post titled "'Buzz surrounds New York Times politics partnership.'"

The New York Times is buzzing with coverage of the Republican and Democratic national conventions -- but it doesn't look like that includes as much BuzzFeed as promised. I've found little evidence of joint coverage despite the organizations' announcing a political partnership in June.

Letters Home: Christina Hartman

Christina Hartman is the managing editor at Newsy. She graduated from
the Missouri School of Journalism in 2009 with a master's in broadcast
journalism. 

The following letter was submitted June 15, 2012

Dear ONA Mizzou,

To state the obvious, journalism is a competitive industry. We're surrounded by many who are just as talented — just as hard working, just as smart, just as resourceful — as we hope we are. Joining the working world for the first time, the reality of that can be tough.

But what I would have told my student and fresh-out-of-school self is rather than thinking of competitors as agitators of self-doubt, they are opportunities for growth.