Best of Still Photojournalism 2004

1st: newsobserver.com: Out of the fire; A multimedia slide show follows the recovery of Jim Edwards, a victim of North Carolina's worst industrial accident in more than a decade.
2nd: (none awarded)
3rd: Fredericksburg.com: Through the Cracks; The Comfort Family: Life in a Shack.
HM: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: At War; The local reaction to the start of the war in Iraq.

Anne Conneen

The News & Observer, Out of the Fire: The audio incorporating emergency calls from the industrial accident was moving and communicated the extreme tension of the situation; later real voices from victim Jim Edwards and his family added emotion and poignancy. Kudos to the photographers for their dedication to the story and giving viewers an intimate look into the aftermath of the accident. Imagery of the actual accident starts out excellent; the ensuing story of Jim's recovery was a little redundant photographically.; Often multimedia pieces suffer from a lack of editing discipline. Photographers forget to edit tightly and tend to ramble visually. The web, although offering almost infinite capacity, could take some lessons from newspapers in that viewers don't have time to waste. Make points succinctly.
Fredericksburg The Free Lance-Star, Through the Cracks: Questions were raised by the judges about the use of music and how it pertained--or not--to the piece. Captions were distracting by not being aligned and were inconsistent.; Photos needed a tighter edit. Although they were generally strong, they were shot with the same lens and needed more pacing.
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, At War: Navigation was not easily located. Captions were difficult to read and did not pop well on the page.

News Picture Story Winners - Under