News, Sports, and Picture Page entries were judged by Syracuse University Visual and Interactive Communications faculty and students John Long, David Sutherland, Sung Park, Doug Wonders, Todd Frantom, Bennie Davis, and Clay Lancaster. Long, NPPA Ethics & Standards Committee chairman and a former NPPA president, is a visiting professor for the Military Photojournalism Program picture editing class at SU. Sutherland, Park, and Wonders teach in the Newhouse School of Public Communication. Frantom, Davis and Lancaster are students in the Military Photojournalism Program and are students in Long’s class.
Feature and Multiple-page entries were were judged by Photo District News executive editor David Walker.
1st: Indianapolis Star, January 22, 2007
"Blue Heaven! Colts seize first Indy-era Super Bowl bid”
Greg Griffo, Ryan Hildebrandt, and Matt Detrich.
Judges’ comments: The person who put this together is having fun! It’s clean, simple and to the point. The headline works well for the audience. It’s not often you would turn over the whole front page to one event, but this works well.2nd: Rocky Mountain News, February 14, 2007
"Kiss for an old soldier"
Janet Reeves, Jay Quadracci and Chris Schneider.
Judges’ comments: The Rocky Mountain News always seems to have great use of photography on the front page. But this one was even more captivating than most. The photo is beautifully composed and has great impact. But the thing that made this page really fine is that it is really clean with less noise than some RMN front pages which let this great photo carry the page without distraction.3rd: The Hartford Courant, March 2, 2007
“An hour of fear”
David Grewe, Greg Harmel, Thom McGuire, John Scanlon, Rick Hartford and Mark Mirko.
Judges’ comments: Page has good photos used well. But it goes beyond that with a good infographic, a headline that really goes well with the lead photo, and an interesting bullet list at the top. This worked together well as a centerpiece dominating a very clean page that is typical of what we expect from the Courant.Honorable mentions:
The Oregonian, January 21, 2007
"Can we do better?"
Patty Reksten, Jody Stott and Jamie Francis.
Judges’ comments: There was a lot of support for this page to be in the top three. The dominant photo is strong, with a great crop. One judge felt strongly that the dominant really would resonate with people in the community who had to drive in this kind of conditions. But when the dust settled, the judges thought the secondary photo came up just a bit weak.The Dallas Morning News, February 4, 2007
"A deadly path”
Brad Loper and Cindy Smith with wire photos.
Judges’ comments: Strong images used really well. One judge, convincingly, thought the photos were a bit redundant in their information although not visually. Judges agreed that a short text block or at least an extended subhead would have also helped readers understand the page.The Dallas Morning News, January 7, 2007
"Paying tribute to Ford "
Brad Loper and Cindy Smith with wire photos.
Judges’ comments: Fine editing of wire photos. Each photo makes a different point, and each has strong, clean composition. This is all put together in a classic, but very effective design with great use of head, subhead and short text block.The Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2007
"Two informants, two arrests "
Mary Cooney and Rick Loomis.
Judges’ comments: This page is dominated by a strong image that grabs the reader. The two photos at the bottom are less dramatic, although the bottom photo has nice visual rhythm with the repeated outstretched arms.The Dallas Morning News, February 4, 2007
"Grief still fresh after 35 years "
Brad Loper, Cindy Smith and Melanie Burford.
Judges’ comments: Judges thought the photos were very enigmatic and would powerfully attract readers to stay with the page and read the story.The Commercial Appeal, February 23, 2007
"Out of the Shell "
Jeff McAdory and Jim Weber.
Judges’ comments: Photos with a distinct style, flare, appeal and panache were used in a graphic display that produced a powerfully visual centerpiece for this page.
1st: The Virginian-Pilot, February 25, 2007
“Little Miss Sunshine”
Team.
Judge’s comments: I expect some heat for this selection on the grounds that it owes so much to the “Little Miss Sunshine” movie poster. But the Virginian-Pilot has transformed the poster just enough to make it their own as a clever and compelling opener for the paper’s Academy Award predictions. Pilot movie critic Mal Vincent’s pick for Best Picture was “Little Miss Sunshine,” so there he is in a tuxedo, Photoshopped into the open doorway of that VW bus, dangling an Oscar statue in front of the movie’s rag-tag cast. Photos of Vincent’s other predicted Oscar winners appear around the lower borders of the page. This feature could have used a different headline to minimize confusion with the original movie poster, but a smart concept, clean design, and strong execution overall make this page a stand-out.2nd: The Virginian-Pilot, February 18, 2007
“No Hope”
Team.
Judge’s comments: This is a great example of a feature page that is more than the sum of its parts. There’s nothing particularly remarkable about the photography, graphics, or design taken by themselves, but together they elevate this story far above your average ‘Lifer’ story. The separation of the face from the hands into two separate close-up images is simple but powerful. It’s a metaphorical look through the slots of a prison door that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. I found myself going online to read the story—a testament to the effectiveness of the visuals on this page.
.3rd: The Dallas Morning News, March 4, 2007
“With nobody to turn to”
Brad Loper and Elizabeth Wishaw with photos by A.P. photographer David Guttenfelder.
Judge’s comments: An enterprising story with strong photography and editing. AP staff photographer David Guttenfelder shot and wrote this story about the monotonous, alienating life of the typical Japanese ‘salaryman.’ The DMN conveys the sense of dreariness with a big, impressionistic opener. Other images home in on the details. The design isn’t particularly remarkable, but it is uncluttered and serves the photography and text effectively enough. Overall, this is compact and effective story telling.
Honorable mentions:
The Sunday Oregonian, March 25, 2007
“Global Influences Spice Up the City”
Patty Reksten and Motoya Nakamura.
Judge’s comments: Moyota Nakamura’s photograph is rich with layers, starting with the bored-out-of-their-minds look of the young dance students. The Oregonian did well to play it big.The Hartford Courant, January 11, 2007
“Frozen food fight”
Elizabeth Bristow, Ross Taylor and Tim Reck.
Judge’s comments: A striking and well-conceived visual lead-in, though the photographer might have done better than the lima bean at the center.Judge’s comments: photography and design for all three of these honorable mentions carry the stories:
The Daytona Beach News-Journal, February 8, 2007
“Wicket Sweet”
Sam Cranston, Jim Michalowski and Justin Yurkanin.The St. Petersburg Times, February 13, 2007
“Monster of a Video”
Patty Yablonski, Bob Croslin and Jessica Parker.The Virginian-Pilot, January 31, 2007
“It’s the Hair”
Team.
1st: The Dallas Morning News, February 11, 2007
" Facing the cold”
Brad Loper and Chuck Stewart with wire photos.
Judges’ comments: An editor came up with a concept and came up with a page that stood out. The headline carries the page, but also ties beautifully with the top four photos as well as the dominant photo. Simple and elegant design uses a good amount of white space which works well with the concept.2nd: The Albuquerque Tribune, January 9, 2007
"Melting beauty"
Steve St. John, Michael J. Gallegos, Craig Fritz, Wendi Wilkerson and Mark Holm.
Judges’ comments: One judge said, “For judge’s comments, just put ‘Beautiful!’ Another said, “Hot, yet cold.” All judges said good use of color and strong design made this page work to a high level, even though the content level is rather light.3rd: The Rocky Mountain News, March 22, 2007
“Sizzling Salsa”
Darin McGregor and Dean Krakel.
Judges’ comments: Judges loved the mood and energy in the photos
Honorable mentions:
The Albuquerque Tribune, March 9, 2007
" Celebration amid struggle”
Rafiq Maqbool (A.P.), Mary Ann McBride, Jeff Alexander, Michael J. Gallegos and Mark Holm.
Judges’ comments: There was much consideration of this page in the top three. The pictures are beautiful, and the dominant is intriguing in design and color. The page design is excellent and uses the photos extremely well. But it didn’t make the top three because judges thought the photos, while beautiful, didn’t get to the point of the story well enough.The Naples Daily News, March 4, 2007
"A life of trees"
Judy Lutz, Kate Frantz and Tristan Spinski.
Judges’ comments: A beautifully designed page that uses photos well. Dominant picture delighted some judges, while leaving others a bit bored. Most judges thought weakest part of the page was the last photo which was “uninspired.”The Palm Beach Post/La Palma, January 26, 2006
" Mas de 23.000 personas "
Mark Edelson and Em Mendez with photos by Gwen Berry, Gary Coronado and Cydney Scott.
Judges’ comments: Nice set of pictures, each telling a different part of the story, well designed and presented.The Daytona Beach News Journal, February 25, 2007
"Untamed Melody "
Sam Cranston, Jim Michalowski, Jessica Webb Sibley and Scott Turick.
Judges’ comments: A beautiful, exquisitely seen and photographed group of poetic images. At least one judge wondered why so much space would be given to a set of photos with so little story content value. The others found the vision and beautiful production made this one of the best entries.The Rocky Mountain News, January 6, 2007
"Crowd celebrates life of ‘our superstar ‘"
Janet Reeves and Dean Krakel.
Judges’ comments: These three photos cover a difficult topic sensitively. The candlelight vigil has a nice moment that makes it better than many vigil pictures.
1st: The Palm Beach Post, January 14, 2007
“An unforgettable season”
Mark Edelson, Nicole Bogdas, Mark Simkins and Chris Burt with photos by Allen Eyestone, Bill Ingram, Erik Lunsford and Charles Krupa (A.P.).
Judges’ comments: The energy of this page is beautiful. The pictures tell the story of the game and show the excitement and triumph. It is graphically well designed to get the information of the season to the readers.
2nd: The Dallas Morning News, January 28, 2007
" In the spotlight "
Brad Loper and Chuck Stewart with wire photos.
Judges’ comments: “It’s the light!” This page is the result of really strong picture editing and selection. Each photo has graphic strength that makes this page come together with a final effect much stronger than its parts. An editor had a way of seeing that goes beyond the normal.3rd: The South Florida Sun Sentinel, February 20, 2007
“Phenoms”
Amy Beth Bennett, Omar Vega and Jon Boho.
Judges’ comments: Great lighting work. A lot of time and effort on a nice concept came together very well. This had to take a massive amount of hard work. The photographer had a vision and pulled it off with a singular style that helps hold the page together. The design of the page was a bit weak. Judges all disliked the headline with the stacked letters and thought the page needed a short text block to explain what it’s all about.
Honorable mentions:
The Indianapolis Star, February 4, 2007
" Super at last”
Greg Griffo, Phil Mahoney, Sam Riche and Robert Scheer.
Judges’ comments: This game was a story about a coach and a quarterback. The page reflected this well. Good editing and great presentation.The Albuquerque Tribune, March 7, 2007
"A painful ending "
Craig Fritz, Charles Googe, Jeff Alexander and Mark Holm.
Judges’ comments: This page gets carried by a really great dominant image with poignant mood and a great moment. The secondary photo adds to and reaffirms that theme of loss. The design isn’t flashy or extravagant, but the pictures are strong enough to give the page great impact anyway.The Virginian-Pilot, February 23, 2007
“Game over”
Team.
Judges’ comments: A gimmick that almost works to present a visually appealing page. The four small photos in the panel might have worked better with just a bit of white space between them.The Dallas Morning News, March 11, 2007
“Hitting the floor”
Brad Loper, Cindy Smith and Louis DeLuca.
Judges’ comments: Photos with good moments carried this page.The Albuquerque Tribune, February 5, 2007
"Super Bowl XLI"
Mark Terrill (A.P.), Wendi Wilkerson and Mark Holm.
Judges’ comments: A Colt stomps on the Bears, literally in this photo, which also presented a visual metaphor for the game. Nice moment. Good graphically. This photo would not work well small.
1st: The Rocky Mountain News, March 14, 2007
“The Crossing”
Dean Krakel, Chris Schneider and Armando Arrita.
Judge’s comments: What does time do to the survivors of an unthinkable tragedy? The Rocky Mountain News explores the question by tracking down the survivors of the worst traffic accident in Colorado history: a collision of a train with a school bus in 1961 that killed 20 children. The visual storytelling presented an obvious challenge for this project, which ran as a series from January 23 to March 2, but the paper’s staff manages to weave a rich, multi-dimensional narrative from archival news and accident investigation photos, old snapshots from family photo albums, and strong contemporary portraits of survivors. Dogged legwork, strong photography and editing, and good pacing add up to a visual tour-de-force. (Full disclosure: PDN features this project in its May issue)2nd: The Commercial Appeal, March 4, 2007
“Menace Unleashed”
John Sale, Kim Coleman and Mark Weber.
Judge’s comments: Pit bulls are a time-honored (OK, hackneyed) newspaper topic, but this feature goes beyond the snarling teeth to explore the culture and motivations of pit bull owners, as well as the animal cruelty and human injury that often results. Photographer Mark Weber obviously took the time to acquaint himself with his subject. The result is a sequence of strong, nuanced images edited and presented in a way that practically tells the story without much need for words.3rd: The Virginian-Pilot, January 28-29, 2007
“The Quiet War”
Team.
Judge’s comments: To counter-act the influence of Islamic extremists, a Navy-led task force is digging wells, building schools and undertaking other humanitarian outreach work in the Horn of Africa. Staff photographer Chris Tyree ably documents the activities of the task force and its impact on the daily lives of Africans receiving assistance, while at the same time capturing a sense of local culture and aspirations. The photography is displayed prominently, and good, clean design helps carry the story.
Honorable Mentions:
The Sunday Denver Post, March 4-7, 2007
“Fortress America”
Tim Rasmussen, John Sunderland, Eric Lutzens, Craig Walker, R.J. Sangosti, Ingrid Muller and Damon Cain.
Judge’s comments: Coverage of immigration law enforcement from the perspective of the border patrol and immigrants adds up to a comprehensive, nuanced story.The Commercial Appeal, March 18, 2007
“Breezy & Bold”
Jim Weber, Richard Robbins and Mike Brown.
Judge’s comments: Collage-motif is eye catching and tastefully done.
Comments? Corrections? More information? Next quarter's deadline? Contact BUP contest chair Mark Edelson at medelson@pbpost.com.
