The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) announced the finalists for its Online Pacemaker, March 11. The NSPA Pacemaker is often called the Pulitzer Prize of high school journalism.

For the first time, the finalists were separated into two categories based on school enrollment. The Feather Online was recognized among 13 newspapers that belong to schools with less than 1,500 enrollment. Another 13 publications were awarded in the 1,500 or greater enrollment division. There are no other categories and high schools from across North America can enter their online paper for the competition.

The Pacemaker is the NSPA’s highest honor to student publications, according to the association’s Web site. The Feather won an Online Pacemaker in 2006 and 2008, and was a finalist in 2007 and 2009.

Publications were judged on content and coverage, site design, ease of navigation, interactivity/multimedia and writing and editing. According to the March 11 NSPA press release, of the thousands of Web-based high school papers, 132 online newspapers entered the 2010 contest, a 70 percent increase in entry totals from the 2009 competition.

The Feather staff will attend the Journalism Education Association/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism convention in Portland on April 17, where the winners will be announced and awarded.

“To me, this is the payoff for a lot of long months of work,” editor-in-chief Suzanna Quiring, ’10, said. “When we go to Portland, whether we win a Pacemaker or not, I’m excited to accept the nomination. The staff has grown exponentially over the course of the year, and I’m very proud. However, we’re not done yet: I want to win.”

For more information, visit the NSPA Web site and check out the Feb. 18 article, Columbia recognizes The Feather staff.