Some state legislators threatened to withhold funding from the University of Missouri, which owns the station. A dozen companies pulled their advertisements from KOMU-TV8 and Woelfel received more than 1,000 complaints about the policy.

In the face of pressure from the University, advertisers and legislators, Woelfel and his staff stood their ground. It was, they said, a matter of journalistic ethics.

The judges for this year's Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism agreed. They chose KOMU-TV8 as one of three recipients honored for making courageous ethical decisions in reporting. At the awards ceremony, held at the University on May 14, SOJC Dean Gleason remarked, "This year's winners exemplify the high standards journalists are expected to uphold. Each individual and organization faced dilemmas in which they had to make tough, even career-threatening decisions. We're proud to honor them for their commitment to public service."

In another example of courageous journalism, on Sept. 25 the U.S. government-operated broadcast organization Voice of America (VOA) aired an interview with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. In the interview, Mullah Omar gave his views on Islam, the Middle East and the United States. As part of the story, VOA's Ed Warner included excerpts of President Bush's address to Congress, remarks from an Afghan Northern Alliance Spokesperson and comments from a Georgetown University Islamic expert. The story—translated into 53 different languages—was broadcast to nations around the world, including Afghanistan.

VOA aired the story in the face of strident opposition from the U.S. National Security Council and senior State Department Officials. Despite sharp rebukes from some members of the press—notably William Safire of the The New York Times, the overwhelming response to the VOA's decision was one of support. In a letter to the VOA, the International Press Institute endorsed the station's actions; and at its national convention, the Society of Professional Journalists passed a resolution commending VOA for its editorial integrity. This year's Payne Awards judges chose VOA as its news organization winner to honor the importance of independent, autonomous news reporting.

In a salute to individual courage in journalism, the judges chose Jay Harris, former publisher of the San Jose Mercury News, as one of the 2002 winners.

When news executives from Knight Ridder announced that they would be cutting reporting staff and reducing the amount of space allotted for news in the Mercury News, Harris felt they had gone too far. After talking it over with his family, Harris decided that the only way to draw attention to the problem was to resign as publisher.

Payne Award winners Stacy Woelfel of KOMU-TV8 and Andre de Nesnera of Voice of America discuss ethics with Al Stavitsky's class.

In an interview with Mark Trahant of the Maynard Institute, which awarded Harris its Robert C. Maynard Fellowship, he explained his decision:

"I believe deeply that newspapers and journalism are public trusts—that public trust at its essence involves ensuring that the American people are well-informed." In the interest of increasing profits, the Mercury News had compromised reporters' ability to fulfill that public trust, he said.

His decision reflected perfectly the mission of the Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism, which is to honor journalists who encourage public trust in the media by courageously practicing the highest standards of the profession in the face of political or economic pressures.

The judges also issued two special citations. One recognized WCPO-TV in Cincinnati for its editorial independence and ethical decision-making in producing an investigative documentary on Cincinnati's deteriorating urban core. Its "I-Team" asked hard questions about the role of a major advertiser, a popular nonprofit housing group and a local church in creating the deplorable conditions in urban Cincinnati, the site of race riots in April 2001.

The other citation went to Vanessa Leggett, who refused to turn over her notes to the judge in Houston about a murder case she was investigating. Leggett argued that disclosing the information set a dangerous precedent for journalists everywhere. After the judge found her in contempt of the court, Leggett went to jail. She was released in June 2002 after serving more time than any other journalist in U.S. history for refusing to turn over a confidential work product.

The Payne Awards were established at the School in 1999 by Ancil Payne, a Northwest leader in broadcast journalism. Judges for the 2002 Payne Awards included Mark Trahant, Chairman and CEO of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education; Mark Zusman, editor of the Willamette Week; Bob Steele, senior faculty and ethics group leader with the Poynter Institute; Larry Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS; Former SOJC Dean Everette Dennis; current Dean Tim Gleason; SOJC doctoral student Wendy Barger; and Professor Tom Bivins, who holds the Hulteng Chair for Media Ethics and Responsibility at the School.