By ANDREA LOPEZ
Features Editor

(ST. JOSEPH, Mo., digitalBURG) — Another one gets the bust.

Leah Wankum, graduate student of mass communications at the University of Central Missouri, was awarded a Walter Cronkite bust for being the winner of the Graduate Student Conference Paper Competition on Monday during the second annual Walter Cronkite Conference on Media Ethics and Integrity at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.

What motivated her to submit a paper: the bust.

“I am just honored to receive it,” Wankum said. “It’s by far the best paperweight a journalist could ever earn.”

During the two-day conference, Wankum presented her paper focusing on the idea of the ethical decisions journalists make based on their cultural values.

“I selected the 2013 sarin gas attack in Syria and Scott Pelley’s 60 Minutes segment titled ‘A Crime Against Humanity,’ which portrayed graphic footage of Syrian civilians suffering and dying from exposure to sarin gas,” Wankum said. “I ended up comparing most of the ethical standpoints we covered in the ethics course, including Western/Aristotelian, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Dao and Confucian ethics.”

Wankum credits much of her success to Carol Atkinson, professor of communication, who helped guide her through the publication of her paper.

In her media ethics course, Atkinson teaches her students to ‘make good judgments’ about their work going global – something Wankum was able to accomplish.

“When I first read her paper, I was really struck by her willingness to see into other ways of making ethical decisions as a journalist,” Atkinson said. “It is a compliment to her own sense of self that she is able to see things from other viewpoints without getting upset or defensive.”

While her main motive of submitting her paper was to win the bust, Wankum said she strives to continue her ethical efforts.

“I’m really interested in pursuing a career in global journalism because I want my news coverage to cater to audiences from a variety of backgrounds,” she said. “I think reaching a more holistic ethic is something the world must strive for, so my goal is to intern at a few internships in other countries. Hopefully I can take those experiences and apply them to my future career as a journalist, no matter where I end up.”

For Atkinson, it was Wankum’s genuine interest and the development of her work that made her deserving of this award.

“Leah was willing to step outside of her Westernized value system and her comfort zone to really apply other cultures’ ethical and philosophical systems to a very difficult subject: Do we as journalists publically share video of innocents in the process of dying after a sarin gas attack?” Atkinson said. “Her paper was a refreshing journey through other ways of thinking.”

The timeliness of the award seemed extra special, as Wankum and Walter Cronkite share a Nov. 4 birthdate.

“Walter Cronkite was known as ‘the most trusted man in America,’” Wankum said. “His lifelong career in journalism truly affected the nation and set the bar high for future journalists, including me. I want his level of integrity and credibility for myself, so that I can be a voice of reason, assurance and courage in my own community.”

Atkinson said she felt a huge sense of pride when she found out Wankum had been honored with this award.

“I guess being proud of someone is sort of a low-key word in all of our emojis about everything today,” she said. “I could say that I really honor her and her success – it’s validation that she’s thinking in a way that is valued by those who are in the field and who are experts in the area of media ethics.”

Wankum is planning on making another trip to St. Joseph as Bob Bergland, professor in the communication and journalism department at Missouri Western, personally invited her to attend the conference next year.

“It will be a big deal because they’ll be celebrating Cronkite’s 100th birthday, and I’ll be celebrating my 25th,” Wankum said.

While she finishes her career as a student journalist at UCM, Atkinson continues supporting the writing of Wankum.

“UCM should be proud and honored that she is at the helm of the Muleskinner,” Atkinson said.

In the words of Walter Cronkite: and that’s the way it is.