Results of the 85th Annual Photography & Multimedia Contest, 2019 Year in Pictures and Multimedia Contest, judged in 2020. – Multimedia results | Meet the Judges
The Best in Show, Photographer of the Year and “Anthony J. Causi” Sports Photographer of the year was announced on March 29, 2020.
Judging has concluded and the winners are listed below.
Harlem Family Lost in Fatal Blaze. A fire broke out overnight in the kitchen of the family’s apartment in the Frederick Samuel Houses on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard at W 142nd Street. Two adults, Andrea Pollidore, 45, and her brother Matt Abduluraph, 32, and Pollidore’s four children, aging from 3 to 11 years old, died after being trapped by the fire which blocked both exits. It took two hours for FDNY to extinguish the blaze.
Results of the 85th Annual Photography & Multimedia Contest, 2019 Year in Pictures and Multimedia Contest, judged in 2020. – Multimedia results | Meet the Judges
Spot News
1st Place – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Lion Fight”
2nd Place – Marcus Santos, Independent for Newsday/AMNewYork “Harlem Family Lost in Fatal Blaze”
3rd Place – Todd Maisel, Independent for Newsday/AMNewYork “Farewell to a Hero”
HM- Howard Schnapp, Independent for Newsday “Plane Down”
HM – Debbie Egan-Chin, Independent for Newsday “Drowning”
EA – Stefan Jeremiah, Independent “Parade Arrest”
EA – Dennis Clark, Independent “Trapped Worker”
EA – Todd Maisel, Independent for Newsday/AMNewYork “Say it Isn’t True”
General News
1st Place – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Remembering Lexi”
2nd Place – Erica Price, Independent “City Hall Victory”
3rd Place – Alejandra Villa Loarca, Newsday “Medal of Honor”
HM- Todd Maisel, Independent for Newsday/AMNewYork “Another Biker Dies”
HM – Todd Maisel, Independent for Newsday/AMNewYork “Big Send-Off”
EA – Tania Savayan, The Journal News “Bridge Implosion”
EA – Stefan Jeremiah, Independent “Hug”
EA – Stefan Jeremiah, Independent “Hospital Tears”
EA – Jon Farina, Independent “Climate Strike in NYC”
News Picture Story
1st Place – Stephen Yang, Independent “Be Like Water”
2nd Place – David Goldman, Associated Press “A Tornado’s Wrath”
3rd Place – Stefan Jeremiah, Independent “A Vigil for Arsenio Gravesande”
HM- Todd Maisel, Independent for Newsday/AMNewYork “Murder and Violence on the Rise”
HM – Marcus Santos, Independent for Newsday/AMNewYork “Harlem Family Lost in Fatal Blaze”
Feature
1st Place – Alejandra Villa Loarca, Newsday “Senior Walk”
2nd Place – Chang Lee, NY Times “The Cable Guys and Girls”
3rd Place – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Waiting to Meet Cory”
HM- Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Kiss Daughter”
HM – Stefan Jeremiah, Independent “Summer Rain”
EA – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Questioning Her Date”
EA – Chang Lee, NY Times “The First Graders”
EA – Hiroko Masuike, NY Times “Dining in the Downpour”
EA – Ed Murray, NJ Advance Media “Bath Time”
EA – Randee Daddona, Independent for Newsday “Cry Baby”
Feature Picture Story
1st Place – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Coney Island-NYC’s Summer Playground”
2nd Place – Chang Lee, NY Times “The Building Inspector”
3rd Place – Chang Lee, NY Times “The First Graders”
HM- Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Prom Night”
HM – David Goldman, Associated Press “Bringing Back the Fish”
Pictorial
1st Place – Gary Hershorn, Independent “Lightning Strike”
2nd Place – David Goldman, Associated Press “Cranes”
3rd Place – Gary Hershorn, Independent “48th Street Sunrise”
HM – Gary Hershorn, Independent “Snowscape”
HM – Gary Hershorn, Independent “Sunrise”
EA – Gary Hershorn, Independent “Vessel Rings”
EA – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Storm Over Jersey City”
EA – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Sun Setting on Coney”
EA – Gary Hershorn, Independent “Statue of Liberty Sunset”
EA – Karsten Moran, Independent “Rain Delay”
Portrait
1st Place – David Goldman, Associated Press “Night Spearfisherman”
2nd Place – Edward Murray, NJ Advance Media “Beauty Treatment at Bar”
3rd Place – Uli Seit, Independent “Psychotherapist”
HM- Randee Daddona, Independent for Newsday “Cold Case”
HM – Al Bello, Getty Images “Heavyweight Champion”
EA – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Keeping Warm at Beach”
EA – David Goldman, Associated Press “Future Generation”
EA – Debra Rothenberg, Independent “Buddy Guy in Concert”
Animal
1st Place – Todd Maisel, AMNewYork/Bklyner “Hang on Kitty”
2nd Place – Aristide Economopoulos, NJ Advance Media “Doggies and Dancers”
3rd Place – Peter Monsees, Independent “The Homecoming”
1st Place – African Rice – John Munson | Cornell Chronicle | Multimedia Producer @ Cornell University
Gambia native Nfamara Badjie grows rice in the Hudson Valley using centuries-old, West African techniques of the Jola people. Cornell rice expert Erika Styger is working with Badjie to study which Jola rice techniques work best in the Northeast.
Judy SanSeverino is also known as the Crazy Lady on Route 22 in Whitehouse Station. But she’s not really crazy at all. This 70-year old grandmother just loves her town so much that she cuts the center median grass on the busy highway.
In 1973, there was one American bald Eagle nest in New Jersey. The pesticide DDT was largely blamed for the near extinction of this large predatory bird species. Today, there are an estimated 200 nesting pairs. The return of the bald eagle is considered one of the biggest environmental comeback stories in the state
Feedback
Overall, the judges felt that this was a very weak category. It was difficult to decide on the winners as there wasn’t one piece that rose to the top. Overall, the judges felt that all of the entered videos were much too long, with way too much music. Overall, the narrative arc of the entered works weren’t clear and so the viewers were sure what they were getting themselves into. African Rice rose to the top because it had a clear narrative arc and a focused story with action. It wasn’t just interview-driven. Grass Cutting Grandma divided the judges about whether it was a worthy story, but they all agreed it was well shot with a clear, focused storyline. Chefs and Tattoos was an original and interesting story, but was an example of being way too long. The judges liked the stories of Life after Losing A Parent, but found the navigation to be confusing. American Bald Eagles in NJ was another example of a (fairly) tightly edited, clear story.
Multimedia (over 5 minutes)
1st Place – Being “The Empress – Shelby Knowles | Megan Miller | Newsday
Long Island native Alicia “The Empress” Napoleon-Espinosa is the WBA super middleweight champion. However, being a world champion female boxer doesn’t guarantee a comparable paycheck to the men. While training for a fight, Napoleon-Espinosa works a full-time job as trainer, as well as training up to three times a day.
Keith Bush was a 17-year-old junior at Bellport High School when Suffolk authorities charged him with killing Sherese Watson, 14, after a late-night house party in North Bellport. For the past 44 years, Keith Bush has claimed he was an innocent man, ever since he was accused and convicted of the 1975 Suffolk County sex-related murder.
3rd Place – Testing The DividePassword Manhattan – NEWSDAY STAFF | NYPPA Members (Jeffrey Basinger, Raychel Brightman, Robert Cassidy, Chris Ware, Shelby Knowles, Alejandra Villa Loarca, William Perlman, Yeong-Ung Yang)
Real estate agents associated with Long Island’s biggest brokerages had more than 200 opportunities to suggest houses to paired testers in eight overwhelmingly black and Hispanic communities during Newsday’s fair housing investigation.
The 21-story Martin Tower opened in 1972 and was the tallest building in the Lehigh Valley. It was the headquarters for Bethlehem Steel and heart of the city that it helped build. More than four decades after the building became a fixture in this community, Martin Tower was being razed to the ground. Its silhouette along the Valley skyline was coming to an end.
In 1984, American fitness mogul Arthur Jones saved 63 elephant calves from slaughter in Africa in an amazing airlift effort. One of those animals would later be named Joyce. He brought those elephants to his property in Ocala Florida. After just three years, they were dispersed across North America. After decades of relocations and reports of mistreatment, Joyce has found a new home among six other African elephants at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.
Feedback
Overall, the judges felt that the “over 5 minute” category was far superior to the work in the shorter category. “The Empress” was a clear winner and more than worthy of the top spot. It had it all: great shooting, multiple narrative arcs (her personal story, the bigger story of unequal pay, etc) and the emotional build up to the final match. The judges felt the Keith Bush story was just about worthy of a spot on Netflix, both in the quality of story and the production value. Testing the Divide was an important piece of investigative journalism and although lacking in dazzling camera work, the complex reporting was effectively put together in a clear and understanding way. The judges felt Martin Tower was a great way to bring a deeper understanding to the standard day-turn news story. And they felt the story of Joyce the Elephant was a great way to highlight the backstory of a member of the community that might surprise many viewers/readers.
STILL PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST JUDGES
The judging of the Still Photography was done by Matt Campbell, Jeenah Moon and Toni Sandys
Matt Campbell joined European Pressphoto Agency in 2003 as New York City Bureau Chief. He became EPA’s chief photographer for North America in 2005 and then became Director, North America in 2011 and has held that position ever since. Previously, he worked as a contract photographer for Agence France-Presse in Detroit, Michigan, and in New York City. Matt also worked for several newspapers in Michigan. Matt holds a Bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and currently lives just outside of Boston, Massachusetts with his wife Kim Chapin, and their children Abby and Liam.
Jeenah Moon is a photographer based in New York. She was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She came to the United States from Korea in 2007. She graduated from The International Center of Photography in 2014 where she was awarded the Dow Jones Scholarship. She is a contracted photographer at the New York Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, NBC news and Washington Post. She is also member of Diversify and Women Photograph. She has been working on projects which address pressing social issues and the capacity of this type of medium to capture the most meaningful, engaging and even impactful visual imagery.
Toni Sandys is a photographer at The Washington Post, primarily covering sports at all levels — high school, college, professional. She joined The Post in 2004 after working at the St. Petersburg Times (now the Tampa Bay Times) for ten years. Over her career, Sandys has covered numerous major sporting events-from Super Bowls to the Olympics- and last year’s historic World Series win by the Washington Nationals. Sandys is a 1995 graduate of Western Kentucky University, where one of her daughters is now a sophomore studying photojournalism. She lives in Silver Spring, Md. With her other middle school-aged daughter.
The judging of the Multimedia was done by Kayle Hope, Bob Sacha, and Travis Fox
Kayle Hope is a video journalist at NationSwell where she makes short form documentaries about people finding solutions to America’s biggest social and economic challenges. She also teaches visual storytelling at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and Hunter College. Most recently, Kayle produced NationSwell’s first video series about the opioid epidemic in Huntington, W.V.
Before joining NationSwell, Kayle led media literacy workshops and produced independent documentaries in Cambodia, China, Bhutan, Nepal and India. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Fast Company, NBC and the Nation. Kayle graduated from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.
Bob Sacha is a director, cinematographer, editor, teacher, photographer and a collaborator on visual journalism projects. He created the video for projects that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, a National Emmy for New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming. a Webby and the first gold medal ever given by the Society for News Design. He teamed up with Blue Chalk as the the director of photography for the New York Times series, Living City, about New York’s infrastructure. BlindSight, a documentary short about a group of blind photographers that he directed, shot & produced had its world premiere at DOCNYC, the country’s largest documentary festival. He is currently an Associate Professor of Video Storytelling at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. His new passion and focus is 360 Video/VR and volumetric capture for journalism.
Travis Fox is the director of the Visual Journalism department at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Fox most recently produced films for FRONTLINE on PBS. His work has also appeared on National Geographic, Al Jazeera, and The New York Times.
From 1999 to 2009, he worked as a senior video journalist at The Washington Post and was widely recognized as a pioneer of news video on the web. He covered such major stories as the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. In 2006, he won the first Emmy Award presented to a web video producer for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He was also the first person to win both the Editor of the Year and Videographer of the Year awards from the White House News Photographers Association in the same year. He has won dozens of National Press Photographers Association and Pictures of the Year International awards and has been nominated for a total of eight Emmy’s.
Fox has taught broadcast journalism at the CUNY J-School and multimedia filmmaking at Columbia University. He graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism.
