Student journalists won a Gold Crown for the online newspaper and a Silver Crown for last year’s yearbook from Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or digital medium for overall excellence.

Since 2009, the online newspaper has received the Gold Crown every year, and the yearbook acquired the Silver Crown award in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. A total of 1,236 digital newspapers, magazines and yearbooks were eligible for judging in the 2014 Crown Awards Program. Print and digital publications were judged on writing and editing, design, content, concept, photography, art and graphics.

“When I first heard that we won the award, I was relieved,” senior and Editor-in-Chief of The Rider Online Brynnon Walker said. “I think we’ve had a successful year and getting this achievement helps to show it.”

The newspaper was one out of four finalists who received the Gold Crown in the digital publication category. The 2013 yearbook was one of 24 finalists.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the final product, and it wouldn’t look as amazing as it does without the help of so many talented people,” Chase Callaway, 2013 Editor-in-Chief of the The Arena, said. “While winning this award is a tremendous achievement, I’d be proud of this book even if someone told me it was the worst book they’d ever seen because it looks exactly how we wanted it.”

Each year new talent joins to contribute to the newspaper and the yearbook. These journalists work all year to create established publications.

“It’s a huge national honor,” Adviser Leland Mallett said. “It shows how hard journalism students work, and it’s nice to show our community how well they are doing.”