After The Fresno Bee recognized The Feather for the All-American ranking presented by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Adviser Greg Stobbe, Co-Editors-in-Chief Mary Hierholzer and Nick Avery and I, Brooke Stobbe, were invited to speak live on 1680 AM Christian Talk Radio with Jim Patterson, Oct. 4.

The show aired at 5:33-5:52 p.m. in two 10-minute segments. Each participant had the opportunity to answer Patterson’s questions.

After being contacted by the station a few hours prior, the staff seized the opportunity to promote their program. Adviser Stobbe received the phone call from Patterson, and invited three students to join him in the experience.

“When Jim called, I first was ready to field a question about The Feather‘s 10-year anniversary but he quickly congratulated me on the All-American honor and asked if the staff would join him in the Tower District studio later in the day. It was an honor to represent Fresno Christian on the air.”

Stobbe went on to say Patterson, Fresno’s former mayor, complimented the FC students’ commitment to Christian multimedia. Patterson was excited to learn of the staff’s vision for future growth both for The Feather and in college.

After arriving at the studio, the group briefed over topics of importance to discuss then waited to enter the recording room. Hierholzer recalls her anxious feelings before airing live.

“My role is generally on paper, not on camera or on a podcast, so I was a bit nervous” Hierholzer said. “Even though I spend hours talking about journalism every day, there was definitely a different vibe, adding the element of live radio. Luckily I was with Brooke, Nick and Mr. Stobbe, which was a calming factor. We were all there together for a common purpose.”

The staff was excited about receiving attention from the community for their efforts, adviser Stobbe says. He hopes public awareness continues to rise.

“Over 150 retired Feather staffers have contributed to the success of the current publication,” Stobbe said. “Their past vision and a persistent pursuit of excellence have created the current atmosphere and attitude of current staffers to push beyond personal boundaries; they refuse to settle for previous standards but look instead to create new benchmarks.”

For Avery, the experience of going into the community to show his work and speak outside of his school was the highlight the event.

“Every year The Feather gets more and more opportunities to branch out into the community, which is awesome,” Avery said. “Our staff meets so many cool people and goes to so many unique places, and after working on The Feather for so many years, I’m finally realizing how lucky we are. It was an amazing experience, and certainly an insight to a type of media I’m not really associated with.”

The studio is located at 139 W. Olive on the south side of the Tower District.

For more information on the All-American award, read the Dec. 17 article, All-American distinction lauds Feather. For more news, read the Oct. 5 article, TWLOHA day promotes awareness.

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