Best of Television Photojournalism 2004
TV News Photography: Spot News
- 1st
- Bay at the front door
- Bryan Barr, WBFF
- 2nd
- Glendale Fire
- Corky Scholl, KSTP/KUSA
- 3rd
- Moose is Loose
- Logan Smith, KCNC
- HM
- Heavy Burden
- Rick Suhr, KXLY
After much discussion about immediacy and relevance the judging panel selected "The bay's at my front door." The story contained timely elements developing and affecting the subjects and community right now. The morning after hurricane Isabel, the streets are flooding and people were not making the best decisions about navigating through the streets of Baltimore. While others were dealing with their lives beneath the bay's waterline. On the whole the story contained content supported by the relevant images. Technique was consistently clear with variety. The second place story " Glendale Apartment Fire" stood out due to its strong technique but, lacked strong content, something the first place story was able to encompass. Completing the top three is "Moose is Loose", a lighter sort of spot news yet falls within the rule guidelines. This piece was well structured with moments of intensity and uncertainty. The technique was strong, solid pictures and closeness to the action elevated this piece. The HM, "Heavy Burden", contained strong technique and effort, the photojournalist was everywhere from the street to the window of a second story spectator. The immediacy kept this story out of the top three.
On a side note, a strong contender for first place "Don't go near the water" was removed from consideration because of the use of graphic video. The discussion focused on purpose and ethical relevance of an image where a mother seeing her drowned son for the first time ended the piece. This is often a decision we are faced with everyday. The story had all the elements (emotion, immediacy and technique) needed to finish among the winners. The panel was split on the intent and purpose of the image, after contacting the ND of the entering station for clarification, the judges stood pat, but the most important and impressive part of the judging/decision making process was considering all aspects after complete information was obtained. The 3hr discussion became intense at times from both sides of the argument. In the end the panel decided to remove the entry from consideration
Overall, the winners are strong but the category needed greater depth. The combination of content and technique finished stronger than pure technique. Also the stories containing harder angles rose to the top. I would encourage more entries in this category.
Robert NinoJudges' Comments
Gabriella Bruni
If it weren't for the dead body shot at the end, I felt "Don't go near the water" should have been first. The piece carried itself for its raw emotion, great bites, and great video of the grieving family and recovery effort. I felt the closing shot was inappropriate and sparked a healthy debate on ethics. By majority vote, the piece was removed from consideration. "The Bay's at the front door" had some great nats, compelling bites and great pacing. Supporting bites were both serious and funny, and obviously required lots of hard field work to execute.
Andre Jones
This category brought about ethical concerns in a major way. Canoe Fatal was a rescue gone badly.ÊIt didn't place even though the shooting was good and the content was powerful.Ê This story crossed the line with me by showing the dead body that was not covered up and the mother crying over the body. I questioned the photographer as to why he/she felt it was important to videotape the body at the end when he/she videotaped around the body throughout the story by showing a foot or the medics doing CPR. It served no purpose other than sensationalism. The story would have won 1st place. We must have a code of ethics to stand on, because if you stand for nothing than you'll fall for anything. How would that photographer felt if it was someone from his/her family being shown on TV like that?Ê I also question the News Director saying that it needed to be shown "not to finish with that image it would've been a missed opportunity".ÊWhat about a still portrait of the man that drowned to end the story? I believe as Photojournalist we have a responsibility to our community first and ratings second.
Rob Macey
Loved the commitment to "Bay at the Front Door". The photojournalist shot and moved, gathering nat sequences filled with action/reaction.
"Bud Flood" was solid as a rock! This is the perfect example of a light hearted spot news story. Watch this Story!!!
Bill Masure
As one would expect, this category had its share of floods, fires and furry animals in distress.
All the winners here showed creativity and solid technique. We appreciated the uniqueness of "Moose on the Loose"; a story of a cow moose stuck in a Boulder, Colorado neighborhood. We liked the extra effort put into "A Heavy Burden". We got caught up in the neighborhood buzz after a cement truck tipped over onto one family's front yard.
The top two stories here showed solid and imaginative shooting styles, good sound gathering technique and good editing choices, all made under high stress or less than ideal situations.