Gabriella Bruni

From top to bottom, WAVE's stories also tugged at the heart and showed quality work.

"Not in Lebanon" could have been a story about another drug bust, but the photographer was given unusual access to the arrest and booking, and was able to capture a heart-breaking moment when the suspect said good-bye to his young son.

WTVQ was our runner-up. The spot news on the Jim Beam fire was compelling.

We all got a kick out of the mascot story. Photographer captured some great emotion from the fans.

Andre Jones

I felt both stations were consistent in all their stories. WTVQ lost out for me with the story that had the sleazy music, and the self-serving story on their anchor. Please people, when you get to the larger markets don't forget the fundamentals no matter how crazy the workload gets. It takes just as long to mess up a shot as it does to do it right.

Bill Masure

WAVE-TV stood out in a division that contained an abundance of mediocrity. Medium shots and flat storytelling predominated here. WAVE's tape showed me the staff there turns out solid stories with good technique. They have shooters who would stay up late to shoot a midnight parade, travel out of state to watch a girl train for the Olympics, and have the patience to roll tape while an accused drug dealer hugs his son before police take him away to jail. Nice job.

Robert Nino

The newsworthiness of the winning entry was high. In particular, "Not in Lebanon" had strong emotion. The access was great and not a missed opportunity. As for the features, they were light yet interesting. The effort and techniques were not as polished as in some of the larger markets, but on the verge of some greatness. We can all take note of where this group goes from here.