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The Poynter Institute and the Online News Association (ONA) are now accepting applications for the ONA-Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media (#digitalwomenleaders). Led by prominent women leaders in the startup, tech, media and academic fields, faculty will include S. Mitra Kalita, current Executive Editor (at large) for Quartz and adjunct faculty at Poynter; Kelly McBride, Poynter’s Vice President of Academic Programs; Liz Heron, and Facebook’s Manager of News Partnerships.

Only 25 promising women leaders will be selected for the program, held April 12-17 at Poynter’s campus in St. Petersburg, Florida. This groundbreaking, tuition-free seminar will help women gain and polish the skills and knowledge needed to rise to the highest levels of media leadership. The classes will be structured to encourage open, candid discussion and networking, and participants will walk away with not only strong skills, but a built-in support system for the future.

Individual workshops will explore effective management styles, understanding journalism business models, navigating newsroom and digital culture, staying on top of technology trends, building entrepreneurial and collaborative teams, managing across differences, and coaching critical thinking. Each participant in this inaugural class will be matched with an industry mentor. And the class will continue to gather virtually as a cohort group for at least a year following the April seminar.

Because of the small size of the first class, the selection committee will give preference to applicants currently working in digital media who can demonstrate an aptitude for leadership through their current job title, project leadership and references. ONA and Poynter both value diversity and are looking for a group that represents need and diversity across ethnicity, age, geography, technology platforms, organization size and skill sets.

To apply to the ONA-Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media, click here.

Who should apply?

The ONA-Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media is training designed for women working in the digital space with leadership responsibilities or demonstrated leadership potential who are focused on advancing their careers toward higher leadership in journalism and technology.

It will include guidance on the business of journalism, individual leadership style, navigating newsroom culture, entrepreneurship and one-on-one coaching. This interactive curriculum will be led by prominent women faculty in the start up, tech, media and academic fields.

All participants will get one-on-one coaching, will seek and analyze 360 feedback and create a personal leadership strategy.

Application Process

The application is several pages long and will likely take you 30 minutes or more to fill out. It does not offer an autosave feature, but you may click through to the final page and submit for later editing. However, we recommend assembling all your required information ahead of time and completing the application in one sitting.

You will need:

-A recommendation letter from a reference and their contact information including email address (in a format that you can cut and paste - .txt, .rtf, or .doc)

-Links to work examples or projects

-Links to social media that demonstrate your activity

-Your resume (in a format that you can cut and paste - .txt, .rtf, or .doc)

-A brief bio (150-200 words, third person)

To apply, click here.

Costs: What will be covered?