I'm delighted to tell you about this year's Online News Association conference, which is sure to be one of the best ever.

The 2008 Annual Conference and Awards Banquet, which will be held Sept.11-13 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., will offer more than 40 different sessions, ranging from panels and keynote speeches to hands-on classes and group discussions.

I'm thrilled with the lineup that the conference committee has put together -- I think you will find that it truly embodies ONA's mission of "Inspiring innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public."

Our keynote speaker will be Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, who is working on an online news start-up with Barry Diller's IAC's network.

Among the other highlights of the conference will be:

* The "How'd They Do That" sessions, where attendees will get a play-by-play deconstruction of how a project was built so it can be replicated

* The Emerging Tech sessions, where you will learn about cutting-edge technology and how to apply it to journalism (think Semantic Web!)

* The Teaching & Learning sessions aimed at students and educator

* The Multimedia Learning Lab, where anyone who wants can drop in to get an hour tech lesson from an expert... at no extra charge!

Perhaps most importantly, the panelists this year will represent an unusual mix of people working in digital media, journalism and technology - to help give you new ideas and perspectives.

And that's not all!

We're also offering pre-conference daylong training workshops, networking events, a night at the Newseum and more.

I'd like to thank the entire conference committee for all of their hard work - and especially co-chairs Amy Webb and Tiffany Shackelford and board member Ju-Don Roberts, who have done an amazing job planning the conference.

You can find all the info about the conference and how to register at http://journalists.org/2008conference. And check back, as speakers will start to be announced soon.

Registration is now open and we expect this year's conference to sell out again, so don't wait to register.

I hope to see you there!

Jonathan Dube
President, ONA