Join us for ONA St. Louis's inaugural meetup, the first in a series of get-togethers on the second Thursday of each month for news nerds to network, learn and share what they're working on. We're the newest outpost of the ONA Local network, which brings people together to foster digital journalism innovation in more than 60 cities and college campuses around the world.
BYO-projects and laptops each month for a fun, informal way to meet and collaborate with other members of the journalism and tech communities. Product people, developers, storytellers, reporters, students, educators, web staffers, and editors are all welcome.
We’ll bring in speakers for some meetups, and others will just be an open, informal space for you to work. Some things you can do at an ONA St. Louis meetup:
- eat pizza
- finally write up a pitch to your boss for the big idea you’ve been mulling over
- work by yourself on a project that you haven’t had dedicated time to tackle at the office
- dive into that big data or research project you’ve been eyeing
- take a self-guided coding class
- meet someone to collaborate with, or who can help you crack that problem that’s had you banging your head on your desk
- hear from one of your peers doing cool work in digital journalism and bring some inspiration back to your day job
- bring a tech toy you’ve been experimenting with lately and show it to the group
- get to know the digital talent in your community so you’re well-connected next time you grow your team
- hang out with a bunch of like-minded people who love digital journalism and make some new friends
Got an idea for a speaker or topic for a future meetup? Interested in sponsoring an event or supporting the group in another way?
At our March 9 meetup, we'll talk VR/360 with Sarah Hill, CEO and Chief Storyteller at StoryUP. Come starting at 5 p.m. to check out our tech table, find out how you may apply VR/360 storytelling practice to your stories, and meet your peers. The talk will run from 6-6:45 p.m., then you can stay until 8 p.m. to work, network and enjoy the pizza and beer.
About Sarah Hill:
Sarah Hill is the CEO of StoryUP, an immersive media company headquartered in Columbia, MO. A 20 year veteran of interactive Journalism, she holds a provisional patent on immersive story as it relates to brain wave patterns. An alum of the MO School of Journalism and former adjunct faculty, Sarah's reporting has taken her team around the world covering stories about the human spirit. Her VR films have taken viewers to Zambia, the Amazon, eastern Congo and Haiti. She is the founder of Honor Everywhere, a VR program for terminally ill Veterans who can't physically travel to see their memorials. Sarah is a national Edward R. Murrow, national Sigma Delta Chi, NAB Service to America and 12 time mid-America Emmy award-winning storyteller. You'll find StoryUP's apps on the major VR platforms.
About ONA Local:
ONA St. Louis is a local meetup group made up of writers, editors, innovators, photographers, producers, academics, entrepreneurs and technologists who produce news for and support digital news delivery systems. We're the St. Louis outpost of the Online News Association, the world’s largest association of digital journalists. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. ONA Local programs are generously supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information, check out journalists.org/ona-local.