NPPA Presents Annual Top Honors & Recognition Awards
DURHAM, NC (June 9, 2009) – The National Press Photographers Association will present the organization's top honors and awards for the year during the Sprague Awards Dinner on Saturday at the conclusion of Convergence '09 at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, NV, and winners this year include industry leaders, who are changing the face of photojournalism in the new era of multimedia, as well as educators who are preparing college students for journalism's rapidly-changing future.
Winners of NPPA's highest honor, the Joseph A. Sprague Memorial Award, are Bob Lynn, formerly of The Virginian-Pilot and the Charleston (WV) Gazette, and Kevin Scofield, the news operations manager and photography director for KDVR-TV (Fox) and KWGN-TV (CW) in Denver, CO. (See full story on the Sprague winners here).
Andrew DeVigal, multimedia editor for The New York Times, is the winner of this year's Jim Gordon Editor of the Year Award for his "promotion of innovative multimedia storytelling at The New York Times' Web site that has helped lead the way in the new styles of visual storytelling." The Gordon Award is given to "the editor of an outstanding newspaper, magazine, video, movie, Web site, book, or other publication or broadcast that supports and promotes strong photojournalism, and the best use of photography, and whose individual dedication and efforts have moved photojournalism's standards forward while also advancing the best interests of all photographers."
Journalism professor Jim Brown of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is the winner of the Robert F. Garland Educator Award for his outstanding service as an educator. The Garland award is named after a picture editor and war correspondent for the Saturday Evening Post who joined Graflex Inc. as a technical representative to the press after World War II. Brown was nominated for "his devotion to his students; his knowledge of photography history and technique; his vision for the future of photojournalism; digital photography, the Internet, and multimedia storytelling and its power to reach the world." As one nominee wrote, "What more could a student ask for?"
Professor Gunther Cartwright of the Rochester Institute of Technology is the winner of the Clifton C. Edom Award. The award recognizes an individual in the tradition of Cliff Edom to inspire and motivate members of the photojournalism community to reach new heights. Edom taught at the University of Missouri for 29 years, founded the Missouri Photo Workshop six decades ago, and is credited with coining the term "photo-journalism." Gunther is being recognized for his continued support of photojournalism and its future and, as a nominee wrote, for being "beloved by his students who view him as a tough, but positive, influence on their growth as visual journalists."
NPPA parliamentarian Travis Barrick is the recipient of this year's Joseph Costa Award for his "service above and beyond his role as parliamentarian, particularly his lead in drafting the governance restructuring resolution." The Costa Award, established in 1954, is given to an individual for their outstanding initiative, leadership and service in advancing the goals of NPPA in the tradition of Joseph Costa, the founder of NPPA, its first president and chairman of the board. Costa died in 1988.
Assistant professor Mark Dolan of Southern Illinois University is the winner of the John Durniak Mentor Citation. The honor is awarded to an individual who has served as an outstanding mentor, either to a specific individual or to photojournalism in general. Durniak was executive editor of Popular Photography magazine, picture editor at Time magazine and The New York Times, and managing editor of Look, himself an enthusiastic mentor who nurtured some of the most prominent photojournalists of the 20th Century. Durniak died in 1997. Dolan is being recognized for his work "to continually raise the bar for photojournalism education, including his efforts to create SIU's graduate school of visual journalism and for being a champion for his students, setting a tough standard and building their confidence."
TJ Mullinax of the Yakima Herald Republic, NPPA's associate director of Region 11, is the recipient of the Samuel Mellor Award for his work restructuring the NPPA11.org Web site, and his lead in organizing the Yakima Video Workshop, and for his support of the Flying Short Course stop in Portland, OR and other regional activities. The citation honors the memory of NPPA's second national treasurer (1948-1950), who set an example of devotion to NPPA ideals. The award is given to the regional associate director judged most outstanding in the performance of his or her duties. Mellor was a photographer for the New York Post until his death in 1954.
The J. Winton Lemen Award, awarded to those rendering continuing outstanding service in the interests of press photography and for outstanding technical achievement in photography, is presented this year to Canon USA and to Nikon USA for their innovations in digital photography through the Canon 5D Mark II and the Nikon D3 SLR, cameras that have helped to radically change the face of visual journalism. Lemen was a charter member of NPPA in 1946. In 1952, after a distinguished career as a news photographer at The Rocky Mountain News, Pittsburgh Press, and Buffalo Times, Lemen established the photo press markets division of the Eastman Kodak Co. and served as the firm's liaison with the nation's news photographers.
Bob DeMay of the Ohio News Photographers Association (and the Akron Beacon Journal) is being recognized with a Morris Berman Citation for his efforts to "advance photojournalism in Ohio, and for bringing new life to the ONPA including their online blog, switching the annual photography contest to digital, and working to resolve issues with high school sports associations." The Berman Citation is given to an individual for special contributions advancing the interests of photojournalism.
John H. Williams of Omega Psi Phi is the recipient of the Kenneth P. McLaughlin Award of Merit for his more than 30 years of service as the official photographer for the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Williams' historic photographs are housed in the organization's international headquarters and in the John Williams museum. The McLaughlin Award is given to those rendering continuing outstanding service in the interest of news photography, whether or not they are members of the profession. McLaughlin was the third president of NPPA and a photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle until his death in 1952.
An NPPA Special Citation is being awarded to Marc Hermann, a New York City freelance photographer, for his "relentless efforts to gain access for news photographers in the New York County Supreme Court."
Read about the Sprage Award winners here.
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