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Wednesday, April 1, 2026
8:30 AM - 11:45 AM
CT
Help Desk & App Support
8:30 AM - 11:45 AM
CT
Help Desk & App Support
Location: Salon D (Lower Level)
8:30 AM - 11:45 AM
CT
Registation
8:30 AM - 11:45 AM
CT
Registation
Location: Salon D (Lower Level)
8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
CT
Featured Session: In Conversation: Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson and WBEZ’s Sasha-Ann Simons
8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
CT
Featured Session: In Conversation: Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson and WBEZ’s Sasha-Ann Simons
Location: Grand Ballroom (2nd Level)
Moderator:
Sasha-Ann Simons
– WBEZ Chicago
Speaker:
Brandon Johnson
Adaptive Leadership
9:15 AM - 10:00 AM
CT
Featured Presentation: Defending the First Amendment: The Future of Press Freedom
9:15 AM - 10:00 AM
CT
Featured Presentation: Defending the First Amendment: The Future of Press Freedom
Location: Grand Ballroom (2nd Level)
Moderator:
Sasha-Ann Simons
– WBEZ Chicago
Speaker:
Karen Attiah
– Resistance Studies Series
Speaker:
Versha Sharma (she/her/hers)
– Self-employed
Speaker:
Gunita Singh
– Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Speaker:
Nick Valencia
Adaptive Leadership
10:15 AM - 1:00 PM
CT
Interactive Holistic Safety Training Workshop: Part 2 (RSVP)
10:15 AM - 1:00 PM
CT
Interactive Holistic Safety Training Workshop: Part 2 (RSVP)
Location: Salon C5-6 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Tat Bellamy-Walker (they/them/theirs)
– International Women’s Media Foundation
Speaker:
Jeff Belzil (he/him/his)
– International Women Media Foundation
Speaker:
Luisa Ortiz Pérez (she/her/hers)
– Vita-Activa.Org
Adaptive Leadership
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10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Projecting Stability When Everything Is Changing: A Session for CEOs on Funding, Leadership and Getting Shit Done
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Projecting Stability When Everything Is Changing: A Session for CEOs on Funding, Leadership and Getting Shit Done
Location: Boulevard BC (2nd Level)
Speaker:
S. Mitra Kalita (she/her/hers)
– URL Media | Epicenter-NYC
Adaptive Leadership
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Beyond the Follower Count: Funding Your Independent Platform Through Journalism Philanthropy
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Beyond the Follower Count: Funding Your Independent Platform Through Journalism Philanthropy
Location: Salon C1-2 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Nick Swyter
– The New York Times
Entrepreneurship and Creator Journalism
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
AI and Criminalization
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
AI and Criminalization
Location: Salon A2 (Lower Level)
Moderator:
Hannah Riley Fernandez (she/her/hers)
– The Center for Just Journalism
Speaker:
Jamiles Lartey
– The Marshall Project
Speaker:
Ed Vogel
– Truthout
Reporting and Editing
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Are Immigrants Not Engaging With Your News? Try Listening to Them First
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Are Immigrants Not Engaging With Your News? Try Listening to Them First
Location: Salon A5 (Lower Level)
Presenter:
María Arce (she/her/hers)
– Documented
Presenter:
Nicolás Ríos
– Documented NY
Audience Engagement
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Reimagining News for Next Generation Audiences: A Flash Workshop
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Reimagining News for Next Generation Audiences: A Flash Workshop
Location: Salon A1 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Ashirwaad Badami (he/him/his)
– Knight Lab
Speaker:
Joe Germuska (he/him/his)
– Knight Lab
Audience Engagement
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Audience Engagement Professionals Meetup
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Audience Engagement Professionals Meetup
Location: Salon D (Lower Level)
Audience Engagement
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Midwestern Journalists Meetup
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
Midwestern Journalists Meetup
Location: Salon C Alley (Lower Level)
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 1: CapCut for Community Storytelling: Workflows, Captions & Sounds That Actually Work
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 1: CapCut for Community Storytelling: Workflows, Captions & Sounds That Actually Work
Location: Salon A3 (Lower Level)
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 2: Braver Angels Debate Pt. 2: Should We Do More to Reach Red Audiences?
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 2: Braver Angels Debate Pt. 2: Should We Do More to Reach Red Audiences?
Location: Salon A4 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Sam Rechek
– Braver Angels
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 3: Newsroom Gripes and How To Fix Them
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 3: Newsroom Gripes and How To Fix Them
Location: Salon C3-4 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Shelby Blackley (she/her/hers)
– WTF is SEO?
Speaker:
Jessie Willms (she/her/hers)
– WTF is SEO?
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 4: Cut the Algorithm: Why Your Newsroom Should Run Its Own Social Server
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 4: Cut the Algorithm: Why Your Newsroom Should Run Its Own Social Server
Location: Salon C7-8 (Lower Level)
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
CT
ONA26 Office Hours: One-on-Ones With Mentor/Coaches
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
CT
ONA26 Office Hours: One-on-Ones With Mentor/Coaches
Location: Grand Tradition (Lobby Level)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Understanding Audiences and Algorithms in 2026: An Overview in the Age of AI
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Understanding Audiences and Algorithms in 2026: An Overview in the Age of AI
Location: Salon A1 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Clara Soteras (she/her/hers)
– Clara Soteras
Audience Engagement
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Outside the Bubble and Beyond the Ideological Binary: Strategies and Best Practices for Building Trust
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Outside the Bubble and Beyond the Ideological Binary: Strategies and Best Practices for Building Trust
Location: Salon A2 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Mónica Guzmán (she/her/hers)
– Reclaim Curiosity
Speaker:
Joy Mayer (she/her/hers)
– Trusting News
Reporting and Editing
Audience Engagement
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Stop Starting From Scratch: Shared Data for Local Criminal Justice Reporting
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Stop Starting From Scratch: Shared Data for Local Criminal Justice Reporting
Location: Salon A5 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Ghazala Irshad (she/her/hers)
– The Marshall Project
Speaker:
Ava Sasani
– The Trace
Adaptive Leadership
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Broadcasters Meetup
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Broadcasters Meetup
Location: Salon D (Lower Level)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Creator Journalists Meetup
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Creator Journalists Meetup
Location: Salon C Alley (Lower Level)
Entrepreneurship and Creator Journalism
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Stepping Down to Allow Others to Step Up
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
Stepping Down to Allow Others to Step Up
Location: Boulevard BC (2nd Level)
Moderator:
Sara Lomax (she/her/hers)
– URL Media | WURD Radio
Speaker:
Candice Fortman (she/her/hers)
– Blue Engine Collaborative
Speaker:
Garry Pierre-Pierre (he/him/his)
– URL Media
Speaker:
Charles Sennott (he/him/his)
– GroundTruth
Adaptive Leadership
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 5: Maintaining High Standards When Your Newsroom Is Strapped: Conversations To Learn How Different Newsrooms Are Using AI To Save Time Without Sacrificing Quality
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 5: Maintaining High Standards When Your Newsroom Is Strapped: Conversations To Learn How Different Newsrooms Are Using AI To Save Time Without Sacrificing Quality
Location: Salon A3 (Lower Level)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 6: Still Here, Still Leading: Why Asking for Help Matters in Journalism
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 6: Still Here, Still Leading: Why Asking for Help Matters in Journalism
Location: Salon A4 (Lower Level)
Speaker:
Luisa Ortiz Pérez (she/her/hers)
– Vita-Activa.Org
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 7: What Can A Publisher Do To Truly Be Different Than Competitors & Retain Audience?
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 7: What Can A Publisher Do To Truly Be Different Than Competitors & Retain Audience?
Location: Salon C3-4 (Lower Level)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 8: The City Hall Reporter's AI Toolkit: Sharing What Actually Works
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
CT
ONA26 Unconference - Session 8: The City Hall Reporter's AI Toolkit: Sharing What Actually Works
Location: Salon C7-8 (Lower Level)
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