WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - Apr 21, 2014) - The Online News Association, the world's largest membership organization of digital journalists, today announced a grant from the Dow Jones Foundation to support a series of unique networking events for digital media leaders.

The grant will make possible ONA Digital Leadership Breakfasts, four invitation-only events to be held quarterly throughout 2014 and early 2015 in New York, Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco or Los Angeles.

"As digital media matures, we hear from its leaders a need for the time and space to have candid conversations, network and share strategies," said ONA Executive Director Jane McDonnell. "While we all agree competition is healthy, sharing successes and failures is also critical to the industry's economic health."

"As technology pushes news organizations to evolve the ways we deliver content to readers, expanding digital skills in newsrooms is of critical importance for Dow Jones," said Paula Keve, Chief Communications Officer for Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. "The Dow Jones Foundation is thrilled to support the Online News Association, bringing leaders in digital media together to exchange ideas across the country."

The first event will held in New York City in April, and feature Meredith Levien, Executive Vice President, Advertising, The New York Times, talking with Raju Narisetti, SVP, Strategy, News Corp, about content creation for both editorial and advertising. This event will be held in partnership with The Online Publishers Association.

About the Online News Association
The Online News Association is the world's largest association of digital 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, developers, photographers, educators, students and others who produce news for and support digital delivery systems. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.

About the Dow Jones Foundation
The Dow Jones Foundation, established in 1954, supports organizations involved with journalism and press freedom, literacy and education as well as arts and culture.

Dow Jones & Company is a global provider of news and business information, delivering content to consumers and organizations via newspapers, Web sites, apps, video, newsletters, magazines, proprietary databases, conferences, and radio. Dow Jones has produced unrivalled quality content for over 120 years and today has one of the world's largest news-gathering operations with nearly 2,000 journalists in more than 80 bureaus, including The Wall Street Journal, America's largest newspaper by paid circulation. Other premier brands include Factiva, Barron's, MarketWatch and DJX. Dow Jones publishes in 13 languages and distributes content in 28 languages, combining technology with news and data to support business decision-making. The company pioneered the first successful paid online news site and its industry leading innovation enables it to serve customers wherever they may be, via the Web, mobile devices, Internet-connected televisions, and tablets.

About the Online Publishers Association
Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) is a not-for-profit trade organization dedicated to representing high-quality online content providers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public.