The Associated Collegiate Press announced finalists in the 2008 Online Pacemaker contest on Tuesday and The Temple News is in the running.

The winners will be announced at the National College Media Convention, which runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, 2008 in Kansas City.

ACP received more than 150 entries for the contest, which was judged by Will Sullivan, interactive director of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Just nine four-year, non daily print newspapers were nominated, and just nine more from the daily category. We can also report that The Temple News is the lone representative in the Philadelphia region.

It might be worth noting that all this came without our new Web site even being judged, but rather the one we were running with College Publisher last semester. Big ups, though, to our own Internet Jesus Sean Blanda, Class of 2008 and Web Editor, who guided us through the transformation into ‘weekly in print, daily online’ and an entirely new web presence. If anyone should be having to turn down job offers, it is this kid, who can - imagine that - also write, edit and shoot video, audio, photograph and, I am told, is handy with the plunger. Contact him here.