Newsroom

CORVALLIS - Proving last year was no fluke, the Oregon State University student newspaper has once again been chosen as a finalist for the nation's best college newspaper by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Last year, the Daily Barometer was named the best all-around daily student newspaper in the country by the organization. Other finalists included the Daily Texan at the University of Texas at Austin, the Daily Lantern at Ohio State University and the Rocky Mountain Collegian at Colorado State University.

This year, the Daily Barometer is in the running against the Daily Collegian from Penn State University, and the Indiana Daily Student, from Indiana University. This year's national winner will be announced on Sept. 13 in Tampa, Fla.

The Daily Barometer qualified for the national honor by winning first place in the region, which includes Washington, Montana, Idaho, Alaska, and Oregon.

"I am really surprised and proud of our students," said Frank Ragulsky, OSU's student media adviser. "I'm continually amazed that we're able to compete at this level without the benefits of a journalism school."

OSU eliminated technical journalism at the school in the early 1990s following state budget cuts. Prior to the cuts, the Daily Barometer was often a regional winner but was never named among the national finalists. For the past 12 years, the newspaper has operated without the benefit of an academic major.

Allison Pyburn, the newspaper's current editor-in-chief, will work for 10 weeks as an intern at The Oregonian this summer. She took over leadership of the newspaper after it was named the country's best last spring.

Next fall, Niki Sullivan, the current managing editor, will take over as editor-in-chief. She will be working as an intern at the Bend Bulletin during a 10-week program with the Snowden Internship Program.