CNN anchor and correspondent Amara Walker to host the 2024 Online Journalism Awards Ceremony

Amara Walker

We’re excited to share that CNN anchor and correspondent Amara Walker will host the 2024 Online Journalism Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, Sept. 20, in Atlanta. Join us to recognize and celebrate the past year’s best digital journalism. 

Based at the global headquarters in Atlanta, Amara co-anchors CNN This Morning Weekend alongside Victor Blackwell and also anchors CNN Newsroom on CNN Max. She first joined the network as an anchor for CNN International in 2012 and quickly distinguished herself as a leading breaking news anchor as she guided audiences through hours-long live coverage of major international news without a script.

In recent years, Amara reported on significant events such as the 2020 Presidential election, including reporting on President Trump’s baseless claims of fraud and repeated attacks against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; the 2021 Atlanta spa massacre and the subsequent outcry from the Asian-American community against the increasing hate and racist incidents due to misplaced blame for the COVID-19 pandemic; when Russian forces stormed Kiev’s Independence Square in 2022; and the ongoing humanitarian and political crisis in Venezuela.

How to attend the ceremony

The OJAs ceremony and luncheon is a special event within the 2024 Online News Association Conference (ONA24). Tickets are available through the ONA24 registration portal, either as an add-on to a conference pass or as a standalone purchase. We offer a discounted rate to ONA members.

• ONA member ticket: $60
• Non-member ticket: $90

During the ceremony, Amara will announce the winners in five categories. Here are the finalists:

Excellence in AI Innovation

• They Call Us Meat, BBC
• We Asked AI to Map Our Stories. Here are the Results., THE CITY
• YESEO, YESEO

Excellence in Social Justice Reporting

Portfolio

• Alone and Exploited, The New York Times
• Missing in Chicago, City Bureau, Invisible Institute
• The secret terror inside US prisons, Business Insider
• Uprooted: How public universities in Virginia and across the nation expanded by displacing Black communities, Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO, ProPublica

Single Story

• A New Police Force Chased a 17-Year-Old Boy to His Death. Then It Vanished, Mother Jones
• Indian companies are bringing one of the world’s most toxic industries to Africa. People are getting sick, The Examination, The Museba Project (Cameroon)
• They Followed Doctors’ Orders. The State Took Their Babies, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting
• The Scandal That Never Happened, Freelance, ProPublica

Gather Award in Community-Centered Journalism

Micro/Small Newsroom

• Languages of Misinformation, The Markup
• Missing in Chicago, City Bureau, Invisible Institute

Overall Excellence, Medium/Large Newsroom

• Get to Know Your Judges: Cleveland Judge Guide, The Marshall Project
• Lost Patients of Northern State Hospital, The Seattle Times

Knight Award for Public Service

• Lost Rites, NBC News Digital
• State of Disrepair: Inside Idaho’s Crumbling Schools, ProPublica, Idaho Statesman

General Excellence

Micro Newsroom

• The Air Current
• Civil Eats
• Mission Local
• PublicSource

Small Newsroom

• Bellingcat
• Honolulu Civil Beat
• The Markup

Medium Newsroom

• CalMatters
• ProPublica
• The Marshall Project
• The Texas Tribune

Large Newsroom

• The Boston Globe
• LA NACION
• The New York Times
• The Washington Post

Individual honors

The ceremony will also honor the 2024 recipients of three individual awards:

• Impact Award
• ONA Community Award
• James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting.

Explore more award-worthy journalism

ICYMI: We announced winners in 18 categories of the 2024 OJAs on Aug. 16, in a virtual announcement event co-hosted by Imaeyen Ibanga, Presenter at AJ+ and ONA board member, and LaSharah Bunting, ONA CEO and Executive Director.