Robert "Alex" Green, a student at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, and editor of The Triangle paper has won the coveted 2013 Ancil Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism.
Green has been awarded for his bravery in following the basic principles of journalism and reporting and self-publishing a controversial story.
Just in his second-month as editor, he went ahead and published a story, last year, about the arrest and resignation of a Bible professor at the conservative Christian college even after the college President Stephen Livesay forbade him to print it by saying that the facts might not be true.
Once the professor, David Morgan, left the college, Green came to know that the teacher had actually resigned following his arrest on charges of attempted aggravated molestation and for meeting underage girls for sex.
In its defence, the college alleges that Morgan left for better job opportunities.
However, Green spent his own money to photocopy and distribute around 500 flyers around campus, which put him at risk of expulsion. Once the national news outlets became aware of the actual reasons for Morgan's resignation, they ran his story.
Later, Livesay apologized for forbidding him to run the story in the newspaper.
"While we had a number of strong entries from journalists and journalism organizations this year, Alex Green's entry best exemplifies the spirit of the Ancil Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism," Tim Gleason, Edwin L. Artzt Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication and chair of the judging panel, said. "We applaud not only his courage in reporting the story but the thought process he shared with us about his ordeal."
The Ancil Payne Award, given by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, was created in 1999 by Seattle broadcasting legend Ancil Payne, former president and CEO of KING-TV.
This award is bestowed upon individuals who display integrity and character and report with insight and clarity in spite of political or economic pressures.
