Best of Photojournalism 2008: Video News Photography: Winners

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Clips from the Video News Photography and Editing winners in the Best of Photojournalism 2008 are viewable at Poynter Online.

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Large-Market Station of the Year Finalists

(In alphabetical order)

KARE: Minneapolis, MN
KMSP: Minneapolis, MN
KUSA: Denver, CO
WBFF: Baltimore, MD
WTVF: Nashville, TN

Runner-Up

KUSA: Denver, CO

Large-Market Station of the Year

KARE: Minneapolis, MM

Judges’ Comments

Tim Griffis

Surprisingly, in this category, we reach our decision fairly quickly. The winner was clear. It had much more of a hard news edge than many of the other entries. Only 2 of the 9 stories leaned toward the feature side, the rest we would say, were very newsy… which we appreciated. Also, the winner’s tape represented a range of shooting and storytelling styles. The photographers and reporters demonstrated that were clearly on the same page.

We saw great stuff from all over the country, from Nashville to Baltimore. All the Finalists from were very worthy of consideration.

Bob Gould

With 13 entries, we decided upon 5 finalists, but 2 of them clearly stood out as the best.

The winning entry showed excellent, consistent storytelling. The spot news had some great news value, with good characters, pictures, and sound. The General news stories were daily turns that showed some diversity.

I especially liked the in-depth stories. “Broken System, Broken Lives” was a great story that had distinct news value. It’s a great community story that showed how the police help those troubled out on the streets. The photojournalists who put this together demonstrated amazing commitment.

Nick’s choice is powerful. The story about a kid born with a defect in his leg was awesome. Some great moments and emotion! Some of the best we’ve seen so far this week.

The runner-up entry had some very good stories as well. I liked “CU Ramen.” This was a true general news story, one of a few true general stories we’ve seen so far. I also really liked “7-7-7.” This story had a few surprises and I’m a sucker for happy stories and babies anyway.

In the end, we felt that the winner edged out the runner-up because of greater consistency in photojournalism; better storytelling with memorable moments, photography and editing. Also, the stories really seemed to fit the categories well.

The other finalists showed some promise. They need to keep working hard. They definitely have the commitment and have the potential to do well in the future.

Jeff Roberts

With only 13 stations in the large market category the judges all seemed to gravitate to lucky number 13 as the top entry for this year. From the spot news story “small victories” at the top of the tape, down to the last story “Nick’s choice” about a boy choosing a better life over a limb, it was a clear choice for the winner. The runner-up entry #9 had some great solid news pieces that we all agreed on that were strong examples of solid storytelling. Finalists # 8, 2 and 10 all were right there and only lacked just another shot or sequence, maybe better pacing, to bring it up the charts for next year.

Preston Rudie

First, let me commend the SOY winner for having a tape that highlighted day of stories and also did not rely on too many long form features. “Small Victories” had a nice surprise of the cats still trapped inside (something another station covering the same story didn’t have) while “No Day for Sightseers,” “Good to See You” and “We’re Lucky We’re Here” were examples of doing solid work on a daily basis. “Nick’s Choice” was tough to watch at times… but not because of the photography. This story makes your heart ache and captures a load of moments. For example, what a fantastic moment when the boy says; “This sucks!” The entire room laughed out loud as I’m sure the people watching at home did too. This story also exhibited the station’s ability to follow a story over an extended period of time. Not easy to do!

Overall, I felt this station’s tape proved its photojournalists and reporters were working in concert to produce memorable stories. There was not a weak story on this station’s tape either, all very solid.

By the way, I didn’t know geese could fog up your camera lens… just watch “Goose Games” and you’ll understand. Great shot!

Nellie Stinson

Capturing the moment, that was the theme for this SOY. The stories breathed, there was no rushing of shots or rapid nat breaks for no reason at all. Just strong solid stories without the fancy effects. After seeing so many entries that were Feature heavy, it was refreshing to see an entry that had more “day of” stories.

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