EUGENE–A small daily newspaper that refuses to print stories based on anonymous sources, the entire Los Angeles Times news staff for challenging the ethics of a Times-Mirror profit-sharing agreement and a pair of student journalists who resisted legal pressures to protect the confidentiality of news sources received the first national awards presented for ethics in journalism.

The University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication presented the first annual–and possibly the only–national award given to recognize and reward ethical choices made by journalists and news organizations to the following:

• Bill Boyarsky, city editor, and David Shaw, media critic, both of the Los Angeles Times, who accepted the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for individual journalists on behalf of the members of their editorial staff.

• Patty Fuller, editor, and Geoff White, publisher, of The (Sonora, Calif.) Union Democrat, who accepted the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for news organizations.

• Erin Bender, editor-in-chief, and Corey Lewis, managing editor, of The Western Front (Western Washington University, Bellingham, Wash.), who accepted the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for student journalists.

At an awards ceremony Wednesday evening (May 10), the school presented the three awards and also presented a fourth, one-time award to the man who had decided, more than a year earlier, that something needed to be done about the state of ethics in journalism. Honored was Ancil Payne, retired chief executive officer of KING-TV, Seattle, Wash., and KGW-TV, Portland, Ore.

"Ancil did something. He created and endowed the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism," explained Tim Gleason, dean of the UO School of Journalism and Communication. Payne himself was awarded a Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for promoting ethical practices and integrity in journalism through this annual national award.

"Our national panel of veteran journalists decided that the first award for an individual’s ethical choice should go to all of the individual members of the LA Times news staff," explained Gleason.

After a special issue of the paper’s Sunday magazine had gone to press, the Los Angeles Times staff learned that Times-Mirror, corporate owners of the newspaper, had entered into an agreement with the Staples Center to share the advertising profits of the special issue.

"Facing real jeopardy to their jobs and careers," Gleason said, "staff members protested the flagrant conflict of interest and petitioned the paper’s owners to respect the editorial autonomy and integrity of the LA Times."

In selecting a news organization for the Payne ethics award, Gleason said the judges expressed enormous respect and admiration for The Union Democrat’s refusal, in its coverage of the murder of three women sightseers near Yosemite National Park, to print the names of suspects who–based on anonymous sources–were repeatedly named by nearly every major news organization in the nation.

The Union Democrat recently was purchased by the Western Communications newspaper chain which has a written ethics policy saying the paper will reject any story based on anonymous sources.

"The judges found the important thing is–that despite a real concern that they were being beaten on their local story by national media, day after day, for months–The Union Democrat held firm to their principles," explained Gleason. "The plus is that they got the story right. The other news organizations got it wrong."

When a different suspect later confessed, the national media were proved wrong, and the credibility and integrity of The Union Democrat was reaffirmed.

The first Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for student journalists was presented to Western Washington University (WWU) students Erin Becker and Corey Lewis. They were editor-in-chief and managing editor, respectively, of the student newspaper The Western Front when the student staff reported on the break in and vandalizing of a research lab by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). The paper used still photos taken from a videotape that the ALF took of themselves and sent to media.

Shortly thereafter, WWU police subpoenaed the tape as part of its investigation of the lab vandalism and of a larger investigation into the ALF. Becker and Lewis refused to turn over the tape, citing the case of State v. Rinaldo (Wash. 1984) and journalism ethics.

"We cannot hand over the tape because we need to protect ourselves as professional journalists and protect our credibility as a newspaper," Becker said.

"The student journalists ultimately did turn over the tape to law enforcement after losing their case in Washington Superior Court; however, their determined fight stands as a proud example of student journalists who took seriously their obligation to maintain autonomy and independence from law enforcement," explains Gleason. In the face of strong legal pressure, they made the decision to uphold their ethical obligations and to honor the highest professional standards of journalism.

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