Washington D.C., October 18, 2010 — The Online News Association, the world’s largest membership organization of digital journalists, today announced a Wikileaks keynote panel that will open the second day of its annual conference in Washington, D.C.

The boundaries of digital journalism became Topic A on July 25, when Wikileaks released a 92,000-page dump of classified documents relating to the U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan. Examining what this means for journalism and the role of the Internet in news and information will be Gavin MacFadyen, Director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, USA TODAY military reporter Jim Michaels and Clothilde Le Coz, Director of Reporters Without Borders. The discussion will be moderated by WNYC’s Brooke Gladstone, co-host and Managing Editor of “On the Media.”

The sold-out 2010 Online News Association Conference and Awards Banquet, Oct. 28-30, will bring more than 900 online journalists from around the world to the Marriott Renaissance for three days of training, panels and workshops on emerging trends and technology, as well as a Career Summit & Job Fair.

The Wikileaks panel will take the stage on Saturday, Oct. 30.

Since 2007, Clothilde Le Coz has worked with Reporters Without Borders, helping to promote press freedom and free speech around the world. In Paris, she ran the Internet Freedom desk, with a focus on China, Iran, Egypt and Thailand. She is the free speech correspondent for Mediashift on PBS. Her role focuses on making public the constant threat against journalists and freedom of expression in many countries.

A graduate of the London Film School, producer and director on ITV’s World in Action and BBC’s current affairs, Gavin MacFadyen has produced over 40 prime-time investigations. He co-founded the Centre for Investigative Journalism in 2003 and helped found the Bureau for Investigative Journalism in London, the largest foundation-supported non profit production house in Europe.

Jim Michaels covers military issues for USA TODAY. He has made 20 reporting trips to Iraq and Afghanistan and has also covered conflicts in Israel, Haiti and Central America. Michaels is author of the new book, “A Chance in Hell: The Men Who Triumphed Over Iraq’s Deadliest City and Turned the Tide of War.” He is a former Marine Corps infantry officer.

Brooke Gladstone is the co-host and Managing Editor of WNYC’s award-winning “On the Media,” distributed nationally by NPR and heard by nearly a million people weekly. In years past, Gladstone has also been senior editor of NPR’s “All Things Considered” and “Weekend Edition with Scott Simon,” and reported from Russia before becoming NPR’s first media reporter in 1995. Her graphic non-fiction media manifesto, “The Influencing Machine,” will be published in May, 2011.

The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of online journalists. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. The membership includes news writers, producers, designers, editors, bloggers, technologists, photographers and others who produce news for the Internet or other digital delivery systems, as well as academic members and others interested in the development of online journalism. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association annual conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.

For more information, contact:
Jane McDonnell, Executive Director
Online News Association
director@journalists.org

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