Shift from experimentation to implementation. 2025 was a great year for trying out new tech in AI, new workflows in video production, new partnerships with the creator community. 2026 should be the year we start to make those realities.
— Andrew Fitzgerald
Hearst TV, SVP Streaming Video Services; ONA Board President
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This year, I plan to move with intention. In the current news climate, there is always a story that needs urgent attention. But running a mile a minute doesn't allow us to step back and think critically about our coverage. In 2026, I want to give myself a moment to slow down during breaking news and try to only pursue stories that meaningfully take the narrative forward. I also want to continue to be a champion of diversity and better align with my purpose.
— Neeti Upadhye
The Washington Post, Senior Video Manager; ONA Board Member
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After almost a decade working in journalism support from the national perspective, I'm looking forward to my first full year in local journalism since 2017. My role on the Partnerships team of Block Club Chicago means I am now thinking about journalist needs on the neighborhood level. Chicago is a city of 77 diverse neighborhoods, and Block Club reporters focus on community stories from Morgan Park to Rogers Park.
From developing community engagement events to tracking the impact of reporting on ICE activity in our streets, each piece of my work in 2026 will be based on strengthening our communities and equipping our neighbors with trusted local information. When the national story lines are chaotic, we need journalism at the neighborhood scale to keep us grounded and connected.
— Christine Schmidt
Block Club Chicago, Partnerships; ONA Board Member
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I'm committed to getting journalism education to match the professional media's pace of change and energy. Courses, curricula and programming cannot be allowed to languish, wrongly preparing students for a journalism world long gone. Instead, educators need to be studying and teaching about the much fractured world of media that most practitioners inhabit — a place where skills like entrepreneurship and audience understanding are equally important as traditional fundamentals like reporting and writing.
— Jeremy Gilbert
Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, Knight Chair for Digital Media Strategy; ONA Board Member
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In 2026, are we changing enough?
Oh, we’re changing alright. Our technology is changing, so our audiences are changing. And both our politics and our geopolitics are changing in rather astonishing ways. So in 2025, most of us committed to expanding our thinking and learning new tools.
And yet, there’s a nagging hope. The midterms are around the corner, which will restore some political balance, right? And the AI bubble will burst. Surely, it was all a fever dream and we’ll soon go back to normal. People might even see the light and start paying a premium for independent, human-produced news. All those things were said to me by journalists in 2025.
As if all we have to do is more or less what we’ve always done.
But “be suspicious of the solution that requires you to change the least,” to quote Shuwei Fang.
The Democrats might lose the midterms. And AI won't go anywhere, even if some AI companies go out of business. People may tell pollsters they don’t like AI but they use it. A lot. And they won’t stop.
That’s why my intention for 2026 is not just to change but to ask myself, am I changing enough.
— Marie Gilot
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, J+ Executive Director
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One of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a mentor was simple: keep your head down.
Not in a passive way. In a focused way.
It means doing the work in front of you without constantly checking what everyone else is doing. It means resisting the pull of competition, validation, and comparison. It means not optimizing for recognition or applause.
The goal isn’t to win the room. The goal is to deliver.
This year, I want to measure progress by output, not optics. By what ships, not what gets noticed. Awards and accolades are lagging indicators at best—and distractions at worst.
Keep my head down. Do the work. Get shit done.
— David Cohn
Advance Local, Sr. Director AI and Innovation
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In 2026, I will help journalists build optionality into their careers. I'll teach them how to develop skills, networks, and projects that give them more than one path forward (inside or outside traditional newsrooms) so their futures - and paychecks - aren't dependent on a single institution.
— Liz Kelly Nelson
Project C, Founder
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I will continue to reach out to community experts and members of underserved groups, to listen and learn what they need, and find more ways to support them with the tools of journalism.
— Andrew Losowsky
CalMatters/The Markup, Director of Product
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As we move through today's world of chaos, my resolution is, "How can this be easier?"
When I notice myself super stressed and tense, it's a quick way to check in with myself and guide myself towards a little more calm and compassion. Just asking myself, "How can this be easier in this moment?" allows me to soften a little. I think we could all use a little more softness.
— Hallie Cooper
Online News Association, Virtual Executive Assistant
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Going into 2026, a big theme for me is resilience. With ONA26 shifting to the spring going forward and the Online Journalism Awards becoming its own celebratory event later this year, change is in the air, which is so exciting. Navigating change can be challenging though so I’ll be focused on strengthening our organization and the path forward.
— Niketa Patel
Online News Association, CEO/Executive Director
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