Best of Photojournalism 2007: TV News Editing: Winners

Thursday, March 9th

Wednesday, March 7th

Tuesday, March 6th

Monday, March 5th

Web 48-Hour Editing Finalists

(In Alphabetical Order)

“A Day Among the Cherry Blossoms”: Travis Fox/Washingtonpost.com
“Paths to Escape Perilous for Lebanese”: Travis Fox/Washingonpost.com
"Bridezillas Take Mad Dash for Gowns”: Akira Hakuta/Washingtonpost.com
“Dupont’s Annual Drag Race”: Akira Hakuta/Washingtonpost.com
“Cheering them On”: John Paraskevas/Newsday.com

Winners

Full coverage of the Best of Television Photojournalism 2007 — including streaming video of selected winners--are available from Poynter.org.

1st: “A Day Among the Cherry Blossoms”; Travis Fox/Washingtonpost.com
2nd: “Cheering them On”; John Paraskevas/Newsday.com
3rd: "Bridezillas Take Mad Dash for Gowns”; Akira Hakuta/Washingtonpost.com
HM: “Dupont's Annual Drag Race”; Akira Hakuta/Washingtonpost.com

Judges' comments

Mike Humphries-

Picking between 1st and 2nd Place was a tough decision. While "Cheering Them On" is more of a traditional "television story", "A Day Among the Cherry Blossoms" represents the kind of story that defines what web stories can be. There is no narration and no traditional "story" is told by a participant or observer in the piece. Instead, it is a slice-of-life piece that uses images and sound to present a video postcard of the well-known blossoming of the cherry trees in Washington DC. It's probably safe to say that no television station in the country would run a piece like "Cherry Blossoms" in a newscast, but it does fit the web. It is well-edited, with good shot selection and expertly-woven natural sound.

Most of the other stories in the category had their moments. "Bridezillas Take Mad Dash for Gowns" and "Dupont's Annual Drag Race" were both cut particularly well, with good shot selection, natural sound and pacing.

Editors in this category should keep in mind the fact that while longer pieces are great and the web is an excellent platform for presenting them, the stories need to be edited in such a way that the viewer maintains interest. The pacing on many of the entries felt very slow at times. Tightening some of the natural sound breaks would've helped to pick up the tempo of the pieces.

Also, the editors should strive to give their stories a definite beginning, middle and end. Many of the stories in this category lacked good "endings" and left the viewer hanging.

Stephanie Ottjepka-

This was a hard category to judge. I watched this from the perspective of an editor but I also thought about these stories in terms of surfing the web. Which of these stories would I have been glad to have clicked on and would I forward them on? My favorite for first place is one I will forward to friends. It is a living postcard. It was beautifully shot and edited. Every frame was composed well and some were just stunning. The pacing and the weaving of the natural sound really carried this slice of life moment. It breathed but wasn't indulgent. It had a rhythm and it kept my attention without soundbites or narration. I found the length of the piece to be just right.

I liked how many of these stories breathed. The duration of the shots were longer, silence is used as nats, and the photographers compose a shot and let the story unfold infront of it. There are seldom camera movements, special effects or quick edits. The shots look like still photos with the subjects moving in front them. With all the creative freedom that the web allows, I'm looking forward to seeing how this storytelling evolves.