Payne Journalism Ethics Winners Announced

By: Charles Geraci The winners of the 2004 Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism were announced recently.

These prizes honor journalists who nurture public trust in the media by practicing the highest standards of their profession amidst strong political or economic pressures. Ancil Payne, a leader in broadcast journalism for several years in the Northwest, established the awards at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.

The Bakersfield Californian won in the category of news organization. The paper was recognized for an investigative series, "The Lords of Bakersfield," that exposed public and private corruption in its community over many decades. Careful to avoid conflicts of interest dealing with members of the current publisher's family, the paper carefully addressed numerous ethical issues in its reporting and editing.

A former arts and entertainment editor, Virginia Gerst, received the Payne Award in the professional category. A 27-year veteran of the Pioneer Press (Glenview, Ill.), Gerst resigned from the paper after management ordered her to write a favorable review of a restaurant. She felt the review was unethical as it was designed to appease the restaurant's owner, thereby regaining his advertising business. The review gave a false portrayal of the restaurant's service and food, according to Gerst.

A past editor-in-chief of a college newspaper, Joel Elliott, also received an award. While writing a story for The Talon, the student newspaper of Toccoa Falls College in Georgia, on the president of the Bible college, Elliott discovered a false statement on the current president's resume. Elliott was honored for printing the truth, despite facing extreme religious pressures from the college's administration and students.

Special citations were awarded to the newspaper staff of the Los Angeles Times and the editors of The Seattle Times. Five days before California's 2003 recall election for Governor, the L.A. Times published the stories of 16 women who accused then-gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger of inappropriate sexual conduct. The judges recognized the paper for printing an important story so that voters would be informed in time for the election.

The Seattle Times was honored for its objective coverage of a significant business operation of its company: a joint operating agreement (JOA) between the Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

The Payne Awards winners will be honored in Eugene, Ore., on May 6.