The Daily News received two Gold Crown Awards, the organization's top award, for the third consecutive year, winning for fall semester 2004 and spring semester 2005. Only nine college newspapers received Gold Crowns for 2004-05.

The newspaper staff was honored March 18 at the annual Columbia Scholastic Press Association's 23rd Gold Circle Awards program in New York. The annual competition for individual achievement by student writers, editors, designers and photographers attracted 12,482 entries from colleges, universities and secondary schools throughout the nation.

"The Gold Crowns are an excellent example of the quality of journalism taught and practiced here at Ball State," said Vince Filak, the Daily News' adviser and a journalism professor.  The Department of Journalism is in the College of Communication, Information, and Media.

The Daily News also received 34 individual awards, known as Gold Circles, the most of any college paper. The University of Michigan was second with 18.

The CSPA is an international student press association uniting student journalists and faculty advisers at schools and colleges through educational conferences, idea exchanges and award programs. The program is owned by Columbia University and operated as a program of its journalism graduate school.

A complete listing of awards can be found at www.columbia.edu/cu/cspa/ under "awards."

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Filak at vffilak@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8218.)