Elijah Parish Lovejoy Journalism Award

Since 1952, Honoring Courage in Journalism

The Story of Lovejoy

LovejoyElijah Parish Lovejoy was born Nov. 9, 1802, in Albion, Maine, and graduated from Waterville College (now Colby) in 1826. On Nov. 7, 1837, in Alton, Ill., Lovejoy, a newspaper editor, became America's first martyr to the freedom of the press when a pro-slavery mob set fire to the building that housed his press. Killed as he attempted to extinguish the blaze, he was buried on Nov. 9, his 35th birthday.

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Colby's Lovejoy Award, established in 1952, honors a member of the newspaper profession who continues Elijah Parish Lovejoy's heritage of fearlessness and freedom. The recipient may be an editor, reporter, or publisher who has contributed to the nation's journalistic achievement. Criteria include integrity, craftsmanship, character, intelligence, and courage.

Criteria   |   Selection Committee
2013 Recipient A.C. Thompson
A.C. Thompson

A.C. Thompson, a reporter for ProPublica, will receive Colby’s 2013 Lovejoy Award Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in Lorimer Chapel. Working in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Thompson researched and wrote stories that led to convictions of several New Orleans police officers on federal charges in post-storm shooting deaths.

- Lovejoy 2013 Convocation

- Past Recipients