Best of Photojournalism 2009: Video News Photography: Winners

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Clips from the Video News Photography and Editing winners in the Best of Photojournalism 2009 are now viewable at Poynter Online.

Chat with Al Tompkins and the BOP TV judges — live each day at 12:00 EST. Ask the judges questions and hear what they love and have learned from the entries they have seen each day.

Judges’ Choice

Terry Bulger

"Meals from the Heartland": Dan Bolsem, KCCI/Des Moines

I’m choosing the story "Meals from the Heartland" from station KCCI in Des Moines.

The reporter here did a great job keeping the Iowa angle in this story about the hunger situation in Haiti. The piece was well written, with nice wordplay that added to the story and wasn’t there just to be showy or cute.

It’s a solid job of reporting and bringing a story back to Iowa that shows the impact and need for the donations that Iowans continue to give. I appreciated the effort in going to Haiti to tell this story, as well as the job done by reporter and photographer.

Scott Jensen

“Green Mountain Fire”: Brian Willie, JohnFosholt, Matt Arnold, & Dave Delozier, KUSA/Denver

Brian Willie, John Fosholt, Matt Arnold and Dave Delozier are four of the workhorse photojournalists at KUSA. In only a few hours they, along with reporter Chris Vandervee, turned a fantastic spot news story exemplifying the best of television photojournalism. Late in the day the team was sent to a grass fire threatening a local neighborhood. They quickly gathered vital images, sound and information. One of the most compelling natural moments of the contest came from this story when police moved in on residents telling them to leave their homes. Dave cut the piece in the live truck and they had it on the air in only a few hours.

The team from KUSA provided to their community important information with a human flair. There were two other stories, from that same fire, produced by other Denver stations in this contest. KUSA’s quality was unmatched that day. Winning the local competition is an important component of what we do as well. For all these reasons—team effort, excellence in visual storytelling, deadline pressure in the field, and victory over other local stations—are the reasons “Green Mountain Fire” is my Judge’s Choice Award.

Jon Knorr

"Junior": Drew Cook, WAVE/Louisville

I loved "Junior", the story of a small town mayor. Only in Kentucky would they have a mayor that is not allowed in the town’s store. I loved the fact that the photographer was able to bring us into small town politics. Each interview was framed differently and the reveal that the mayor was a dog was great.

Shane McEachern

"War Widows": Dave Delozier KUSA Denver

This category was a tough one, so many stories to choose from.... We ended up with some incredible winners in the end. It came down to two stories for me. I really liked "War Widows" because of the powerful nature of the story combined with such controlled writing and shooting. This was a tough shoot, a tough topic, and it brought new information to me about something I've never known anything about. In times of war, I feel stories like "War Widows" really need to be told more frequently.... and now the ban has been lifted at Dover's AFB for the press to once again cover the coffins of our soldiers coming home, perhaps the sacrifices of our military can finally come into plain view for all to see... They are heroes and should be recognized as heroes.

Not to get preachy, but way too often on a day to day basis we forget about the soldiers giving their lives everyday, and we forget about the families, friends, and lives that are wrecked because of their husbands, brothers, mothers, sons, or daughters deaths. This story and several others in the contest made me feel good about our responsibility to tell those stories to our viewing public. The widows (who help out the military and dedicate their lives to others) are American Heroes too. This was the most American story.... so very important, and a "must-see" type of story. Great job on this guys... sorry for ramblin' but I now officially tired. Thanks for letting me judge, I hope I helped out in some way.... this has been a blast!!!! NPPA keep it going strong!

Tom Sharkey

"Healing Fields:Hidden Hurt": Alexandra Garcia, washingtonpost.com

I saw so many good web stories this week, our newspaper brothers are really beginning to stretch their legs with video. I saw sad stories, informative stories and humorous stories, for me it's hard to pick one that stands out as a personal favorite. So I think the one I am going to remember most from this week is "Healing Fields". It had some real moments, and was shot and sequenced well, but mostly It was an important piece to do. It looks at the state of medical care in our rural areas, or should I say lack there of. It's not the best web story I saw this week but it's kind that needs to be encouraged, and the kind that needs to keep being done.

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