Bryan College student wins national ethics in journalism award

photo Bryan College is in Dayton, Tenn.

The editor of the student newspaper at Bryan College has won a national award for ethics in journalism.

Robert "Alex" Green, a student at the Dayton, Tenn., college and editor of The Triangle paper, published a story in 2012 about the arrest and resignation of a Bible professor at the conservative Christian college even after the college president refused to let him print it in the newspaper.

After professor David Morgan left the college, Green learned that the teacher had left because he had been arrested on attempted aggravated molestation charges, accused of meeting underage girls for sex. The college had said that Morgan left for better job opportunities.

Green wrote the story for the paper, but Bryan President Stephen Livesay killed it, saying the school wasn't sure the charges were true.

Green then made 300 fliers of the story and distributed them around campus. National news outlets picked up the story of what Green had done. Livesay later apologized for not allowing the story to run.

"We applaud not only his courage in reporting the story but the thought process he shared with us about his ordeal," said Tim Gleason, chairman of the judging panel, in a news release.

The Ancil Payne Award is given by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.

Upcoming Events