Just one day after receiving a National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Online Pacemaker nomination, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) announced that The Feather Online is a 2012 Digital News Crown finalist, as of March 1.

The Feather is one of 27 publications nominated for the award. Of the 27 productions, 10 are based in California.

With four categories of high school Crown awards ranging from Yearbook to Print, the CSPA awards its top honors to Gold Crown winners, and secondary honors to Silver Crown recipients. This will be announced at the 88th annual Scholastic Convention at Columbia University, March 16. The Feather has been a Crown winner for the past four years now, with a Silver Crown in 2009, and Gold Crowns in 2010 and 2011.

“This year, our Crown is much more rewarding for me because of all the hard work and dedication I have put into it as an editor,” Opinions Editor Tynin Fries, ’14, said. “I spend almost every day after school working on The Feather so it’s gratifying to finally receive some recognition. Last year I was thrilled when we won, but it wasn’t something that was essential to my daily life. Now that I’ve been involved, this award means a lot more.”

California’s Digital News Crown finalists include Berkeley High Jacket Online of Berkeley High School, Berkeley; Campanile Online of Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto; El Estoque Online of Monta Vista High School, Cupertino; Grizzly Gazette Online of Granite Hills High School, Porterville; Talonwp.com of Harker Upper School, San Jose; The Foothill Dragon Press Online of Foothill Technology High School, Ventura; The Paly Voice Online of Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto; The Saratoga Falcon Online of Saratoga High School, Saratoga; and The Viking Online of Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto.

Every other year, The Feather staff travels to New York City for CSPA’s conference. The 2011-12 school year marks another opportunity for the staff to visit Columbia. In addition to touring Manhattan and attending classes at the conference, Co-Editors-in-Chief Nick Avery, ’12, and Mary Hierholzer, ’12, Webmaster David Casuga, ’12, and Multimedia Anchor Brooke Stobbe, ’12, will present sessions for CSPA.

“I feel so incredibly honored to once again be recognized by one of the top universities in the world for our accomplishments in publications,” Casuga said. “Even though we won the Gold Crown last year, I know that every year the bar continues to rise and challenge me, along with everyone on the staff, to step up and exceed expectations. I can’t wait to travel to New York to share the win with my staff at Columbia University. It’s always such an honor to be asked to present at one of the most prestigious colleges in the country in front of a group of my peers.”

For more information on the Crown Award, visit the CSPA’s website. For more information on The Feather, read the March 21, 2011 article, The Feather takes home 2nd Gold Crown, or the Feb. 29 article, BREAKING: The Feather clinches Pacemaker nomination.