ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 18, 2005) – The judges spent Friday morning finishing up their last categories.
"What time do you want the Web cast?" Al Tompkins of The Poynter Institute for Media Studies asked. “Around 1:30 p.m.,” NPPA president Bob Gould said.
The NPPA Best Of Photojournalism 2005 Television contest is done. The judges now have the fun of announcing the winners.
“It’s 2:00 p.m, are we ready to go?” Tompkins asked.
Contest chairs Merry Murray and Mike Harrity surrounded Gould around the microphone, with the judges behind them. (Watch the Web cast)
They called the Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year, the Station of the Year, and Television Editor of the Year winners.
They called Corky Scholl of KUSA-TV in Denver. “You are the Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the year," Murray announced. Scholl couldn’t believe it. “I was excited and so surprised. There are lots of greater photographers than me that have never won this award. I’m just thrilled. I’m in good company."
Scholl (right) wasn’t sure what to think when he was told to stand by the phone. “I had suspicions. Mike Harrity called to tell me to be by the phone. Al Tompkins called and told me to be by the phone. When I felt the phone ringing I got very nervous and my hands were shaking.”
He says he took advice from an old friend when putting his tape together. “From my years at KSTP, Jon Menell told me to put on the tape the stories you are really proud of and happy to show other people and that’s what I did. I got critiques from other photographers. That was my guiding principle,” he said.
“Every day is an opportunity to do something great. Always have a good attitude and believe on any given day that you can have the best story in the newscast. Having an optimistic attitude and working hard and it’s very rewarding and you can fulfill your creativity and have a great product make the air,” Scholl said.
Contest judge Katrina (Brown) McCann said of Scholl's winning tape, "Ultimately we awarded first place to the photographer who really set themselves a part from the group. It seemed to me that this is the type of photographer people really go to when an important story needs to be shot. I really enjoyed the variety of stories, and each one had a special something. No shot, no story, was ever the same. I loved the variety of the stories, and how so many of them really dealt with people and their lives. One of the things that really stood out to me was the last shot in the story, 'The Hive.' It was such a compelling moment."
Contest judge Kurt Austin said, "Seven photojournalists made it to the final POY round. Every single one of these tapes was solid from top to bottom. After slowing weeding them out, it came to the final two. We looked at both tapes all the way through again and finally decided on the winner. In my eye, it was a virtual tie, until we compared the last stories on each."
Kristen Bergeron, of KTVT-TV in Fort Worth, TX, was the POY runner-up. McCann said of Bergeron's tape, "I really enjoyed every story on this tape. The photographer was consistent, creative, and virtually flawless. Every story had strong photography, and was very unique. This photographer showed endless dedication to their stories, and really shot from the heart. I also liked the fact that they thought outside of the box, and they put incredible effort into each story."
Judge Kenny Reynolds said about the POY choice, "There was a fine line between this year's winner and runner up - it could have easily gone either way. (The runner-up) provided a wide variety of stories - and seemed to master the craft in all areas. It is a shame that we couldn't have more than one winner. There was obvious thought and effort exhibited in all aspects of this compilation - great pictures - great sound - an overall great reel."
The Editor of the Year, Brian Weister (at right) of KMGH-TV in Denver, was really surprised when he got the call. “Brian we thought we would call you and let you hand over the torch this year to the new editor of the year,“ editing contest Chair Mike Harrity jokingly said. Weister agreed to help out, and then Harrity broke the news to him. “Look in the mirror, because you've won Editor of the Year for the second year in a row,” Harrity told him.
"How does it feel to win again?" Harrity asked him later. “It was completely unexpected. I submitted my tape for consideration, and hoped for the best. I feel blessed... It is extremely hard to win this just once, and even harder to do it twice, so I’m absolutely ecstatic," Weister told him.
Weister values his job as an editor. “I think what I have been trying to do for a long time is to try to reward a good job done by the photographer. Way too often a photographer will go shoot a great story, and then be let down by the final product. The editor owes it to the photographer to spend the extra time and look at the entire tape. Listen for natural sound and look for the best shots. This can make the difference between an 'okay' story and a great story,” he said.
“Also, you can’t take a script, as it is given to you, at face value. You have to go beyond what is given to you and and take the time to look for something better. Always strive to make it better than it was given to you," he said.
The runner-up Editor of the Year is Stephanie Ottjepka of WTVT-TV in Tampa, FL.
KUSA-TV in Denver, CO, was named the large market Station of the Year for an unprecedented tenth time. Eric Kehe, director of photography couldn’t believe it. “Is this some kind of sick joke?” he asked.
Once Kehe finally realized it wasn’t a joke, he talked about the win. “It’s just an honor because I know how good the stations are in the country. I have been fortunate to travel around and do NPPA seminars and every time we have a job opening we get tapes from all over, so I know how good the photography is out there.”
“I agree with the judges. If you don’t do spot news well, you shouldn’t really be considered. General news too,” he said.
Kehe knows how excited his staff will be when they hear the news. “Our guys just work so hard and they will be just to proud to know that they won this prestigious award,” he said.
The next call was to WAVE-TV in Louisville, KY. They won Station of the Year medium division. Jeff Hoffman news director at WAVE-TV was very excited about winning medium market station of the year for the second straight year. “I think it’s a tremendous honor we’re very appreciative of it, it’s a tribute to the great photojournalists and storytellers that we have now and those that have built up the excellence here at WAVE-TV.”
Chief photographer Scott Utterback said, “Winning it the first year really shows how hard working the photographers are, but for two years is a testament to the management here. From the news director to the general manager, they’ve created a wonderful environment for us to work in.”
Utterback talked about the station’s shooting philosophy. “We like to tell the stories that the viewers need to know and telling it appropriately."
WHO-TV in Des Moines, IA, won the small market Station of the Year, also for the second straight year. "It’s a real competitive market and we’re good friends with a lot of folks at the other stations," chief photographer Mike Borland said, referring to KCCI-TV, their competitor, who was runner-up for this award.
“We went through a short time, where we were excited that we won last year. But then we really wanted to win badly again, and we did things differently this year, and after we put the entry together we put more reporters on the tape... it’s just the way we do things now. Everybody chips in. We never think of ourselves as 'small market.' We just don’t do that. We’re going to cover (a story) and cover it well," he said.
The winners, along with judges comments on each category, are here for Spot News, Deadline Photography, General News, 48 Hour Feature, Feature, Sports, In-Depth/Series, Team Entry, Documentary, Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year, and Station of the Year.
The judges spent six days here at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies watching and critiquing more than 600 entries. The sun is finally shining here Friday in the late afternoon and the judges are leaving feeling grateful for the opportunity to judge the Best of Photojournalism 2005.
“It was an honor being here... being able to judge some of the best journalism in the country was an opportunity I will remember, and I learned some things as well," judge Paul Pytlowany said.
Contest Chair Murray said the week flew by. “Al and the folks from Poynter were very gracious hosts. The judges worked extremely hard and I give them a lot of credit for getting through it all,” she said.
Then she added, “This whole week and all the preparation for the contest was amazing. We were able to see tons of great news stories from around the country and I can’t wait until next year,” she said. "But first, it’s time to get caught up on some sleep.” - Bob Gould
Watch the judges announce the winners during a Web cast from Poynter.
The Best Of Photojournalism 2005 Television contest page was updated daily during the judging.
Sunday's story: The television judging got started with Spot News categories as judges gathered at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
Monday's story: Judges picked winners from General News and Sports categories.
Tuesday's story: Judges picked winners from the Features and Documentary categories.
Wednesday's story: Judges picked a winner in Television Editor of the Year and watched tapes for the Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year.
Thursday's story: Judges picked the new Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year, and watched tapes for Station of the Year winners.
Television judges: Read their biographies and see a slide show of the judging.
Last week: The Best Use Of Pictures and Editing categories were judged at Ohio University in Athens, OH. Read about that judging here, along with information about the Best Of Photojournalism Still Photography and Web site judges for 2005.
