Ancil Payne, one of the Northwest's leaders in broadcast journalism, made a gift of $106,000 to the School of Journalism and Communication to establish the Ancil Payne Awards for Meritorious Journalism. The endowment will honor the work of professional and student journalists demonstrating the highest ethical practices in their work in print, broadcast and new media in the Northwest.

Former president and chief executive officer of King Broadcasting Co., Payne explained his motivation for establishing the gift was to his desire to help solve "the problems of ethics in the journalism world today.

"I felt that, perhaps, better ethical practices throughout the profession could be encouraged by illuminating ethical stands taken by individual journalists, especially in difficult situations," Payne continued. "For example, a news director who decides to air a story despite potential loss of advertising would be deserving of an award."

Though still at work refining the criteria for "meritorious journalism," Payne and UO School of Journalism and Communication Dean Tim Gleason agree that the awards will recognize journalistic practices that assist people in understanding complex issues and search out solutions for the problems society faces.

"The Payne Awards will reward the excellent work of serious journalists who are serving the public interest and will stand as a strong symbol of the enduring importance of the traditional values of public interest journalism," said Gleason,

The UO journalism school will oversee the selection of journalists to receive the Ancil Payne Awards for Meritorious Journalism. Criteria and application process details will be announced later.

A native Oregonian, Payne is the recipient of the UO Pioneer Award and a member of the Journalism Advancement Council. From 1965 to 1970, he served as general manager of KGW-TV. Payne worked for 15 years as the president of King Broadcasting Co. of Portland and Seattle.