Best of Photojournalism 2006: TV News Photography: Winners
Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year Finalists
(In Alphabetical Order)
- Kristen Bergeron
- KTVT-TV / Dallas, TX
- Drew Cook
- WAVE-TV / Louisville, KY
- Michael DelGiudice
- News 12 / Long Island, NY
- Steve Fedoriska
- KCNC-TV / Denver, CO
- Stan Heist
- WBFF-TV / Baltimore, MD
- Geoffrey Levine
- KGUN-TV / Tucson, AZ
- Thomas McDonald
- KDVR-TV / Denver, CO
- Ken Mostek
- KUSA-TV / Denver, CO
- Corky Scholl
- KUSA-TV / Denver, CO
- Andrew Sugden
- KARE-TV / Minneapolis, MN
Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year Runner Up
Ken Mostek KUSA-TV / Denver, CO
Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year
Stan Heist WBFF-TV / Baltimore, MD
Judges' comments
“It was so close!” Lou Davis said. “The top 4 tapes for POY showed great commitments to the craft of storytelling and photography! Rock solid pictures that did not shake or move was the trend along with the details of composition, lighting, capturing moments, sequenced pictures that imitated the eye and natural sound punctuation that complemented reporters track… often under extreme conditions!”
“After comparing every story in every category between the top 4, it became clear who had the best entry. The winning photojournalist had a better spot news story and a consistency in storytelling thru the rest of the categories. The winning photojournalist was bringing more to all of the stories in all the categories! The winning photojournalist found a way to do the everyday story in a different way! The winning photojournalist had the stories!”
“An important note: If a photojournalist comes across a great spot news story during the year, consider making a run for POY! In this category, this year, it made a significant difference!”
Kevin Labrecque said, “Overall I was a little disappointed with this year’s crop of entries. There seemed to be so many stories that went astray somehow and spot news seemed to be lacking in almost all of the tapes. I did see some really great feature and in-depth pieces. I had a hard time narrowing it down do just one winner from the four that I really liked. I believe that this year’s POY demonstrated all of the things that we as photojournalists strive for each and everyday. I hope everyone can pick-up a thing or two from this year’s POY.”
Ray Meints said, “One of the key elements that I looked at was compelling video/TV, storytelling, something that drew me in. While many of the entries had great video, they didn’t have the ‘wow factor.’ The winners left an impression with me. Note: Way too many unnecessary dissolves in many of the stories. The dissolves were way too long also. Dissolves hurt many of the stories. If you can do it with a straight cut, then do it. Dissolves, when used correctly, do have a purpose. But they can also be a crutch. It can be a tool to compensate for bad video.
“I would like to have seen more use of sticks. Keep the shots ‘rock’ solid.
“Many of the Spot News entries didn’t really meet the definition of Spot News. This was a huge problem in the POY category. The rules state: “Ability to function in a stressful situation.” Many of the spot news stories were really General News entered in the Spot News category. Also not a lot of reaction shots. Pieces were not very compelling. Need more natural moments.
“A lot of the stories were good technically, but lacked on the storytelling side. Storytelling isn’t just the responsibility of the reporter. Great photojournalist should be involved in the writing process as well as shooting and editing.
“I always learn a lot from judging contests. I also learn from the other judges. Lou Davis of WTVD-TV, in Durham, NC, has some good ideas. One of the things he asks is; ‘What does the photographer bring to the story?’ That’s a great concept that I will be asking myself in the future. It’s something we should all ask ourselves as we go about our jobs. What can I bring to this story?
“The top stories had very few technical errors. Good pacing, good audio, good natural sound, seamless audio (but not always ), good lighting and solid shots. The technical aspects were near perfect.
“It was storytelling that separated the ‘best from the rest,’ Not only were the top picks great stories, but the photographers appeared to ‘work as one’ with the reporter. Teamwork is a very important element in our profession. Develop a good relationship with reporters, and together you can become better professionals.
“One added note: I was very impressed the number and quality of photo essays. I tended to give a bit of ‘extra credit’ to photographers who produced the whole story. It is generally more challenging to produce your own piece, and my hats off to those who did (and did a great job)!
“It was the stories that ‘got me involved’ that left lasting impressions with me. Natural moments don’t always come from being in the right place at the right time. Good photojournalists find ways to get the moments. Good photojournalists “anticipate” and work hard to position themselves in the ‘right place at the right time.’”
Greg Stotelmyer said, “There were four or five entries that were very closely bunched. In the end, the winner stood out for consistency throughout his/her entry. The approach to each story illustrated creativity, with well delivered moments. For instance, there was a nice change of pace in the in, depth story, with solid payoffs to the viewer in several places.
“Overall, the spot news portion of the POY category was the weakest part, but as we all know, you have what the day, week, year deliver. It didn’t deliver much. So, next year, if you have a fantastic spot news story, you could have an advantage out of the starting gate for POY. It became a big topic of discussion as we tried to settle on placing the entries.
“Being solid and consistent, while delivering stories told by people, with emotion and changes in direction became the turning point in a very tight category.”
Ernesto Torres said, “There were many very good entries but it came down to the ones that really told the story with emotion, passion, and where technically sound.
“There where two stories that where done by two different photojournalist both where shot very well but one really told a story with a surprise that one was the one that stood out to me.
“The POY winner was awesome it had everything that you want to see on a tape, great storytelling, rock solid photography and editing and also very creative, and most importantly they all told a story that you could connect with and made you care about the people in the story.
“My overall thoughts where that there where many great stories done my many great photojournalist but the one that stood out is the one that you would want to show everybody at your station as a way to teach and give ideas to other photojournalist.”
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