[Dramatic rescue: Photographer Chind's winning photograph]
Mary Chind (left) of The Des Moines Register won journalism's highest honor today in the breaking news category for her photograph of the heart-stopping moment when a rescuer dangling in a makeshift harness tries to save a woman trapped in the foaming water beneath a dam.Also, the Asbury Park Press was a finalist in the award's top category, Public Service, "for its exhaustive examination of how an archaic property tax system harms New Jersey’s economy and ordinary families, using stories and interactive databases to spark pledges of statewide reform." (Here's the Press's story about its near-win.)
Of Des Moines, the awards committee said: "What happened on the Des Moines River one afternoon last summer was at once courageous and tragic,'' according to the Register's account. "A boat went over a dam and capsized, sending a 67-year-old woman and her husband into turbulent waters. Patricia Ralph-Neely would be plucked from the river in a daring rescue, only to later learn her husband had drowned."
The award, worth $10,000, is for a distinguished example of breaking news photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or photographs, a sequence or an album, in print or online or both,'' the organization says.
The Register says it's the paper’s 16th Pulitzer, and its first since 1991. It's the paper’s third Pulitzer for photography.
Also nominated as finalists in this category were the staff of the Associated Press "for its unforgettable images that take viewers to the frontlines of America’s war in Afghanistan, recording a range of scenes and emotions, from mirth to pain and sorrow; and the staff of the New York Daily News for its compelling and remarkably complete photo coverage of the miraculous landing of a US Airways jetliner in the Hudson River off Manhattan without loss of life."
Related: the complete list of 2010 Pulitzer winners
[Photo: top, Register; Chind, Pulitzer.org]
Do you see any other Gannett citations among the finalists? I'm still going through the categories.
ReplyDeleteAnyone seen a Pulitzer statement from Corporate?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Mary. That's a fantastic picture.
ReplyDeleteWhat's sad is that the quarterly awards contest the Gannett does no longer has a category for photos, and never has had one for videos.
ReplyDeleteBut it DOES have multiple categories for writing.
Speaks volumes, doesn't it?.
When do the 2009 Best o' Gannett Awards get announced?
ReplyDelete3 weeks ago:
ReplyDeletehttp://gannett.com/go/newswatch/2010/mar/nw0318-1.htm
A couple of these made my eyes roll.
Best of Gannett = tallest dwarf contest?
Odd: That release isn't in the Best of Gannett section on Corporate's site.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, it's noteworthy that Mary Chind's Pulitzer Prize-winning photo didn't appear among any of the Best of Gannett winners. Also, the Asbury Park Press's Pulitzer finalist entry got only a second-place in the "community leadership" category. (Different judges reach different conclusions, obviously.)
Why aren't there any Best of Gannett categories devoted to photos, graphics or videos -- or am I missing something?
You - and everyone else - are missing something: an opportunity to see the Best of Gannett's photos, graphics and videos.
ReplyDeleteIf memory serves me right, they used to have a category for photography 4-6 years back, but dropped it.
Apparently, pigs are now flying, and hell's turned frosty.
ReplyDeleteStill no public statement from Corporate on Des Moines's Pulitzer; just a link to that paper's story about the award. And no public acknowledgement of Asbury Park's being a finalist.
It's a strange world when this blog does a better job than Corporate in reporting positive news about GCI.
Corporate has now released a statement on the Pulitzer honors.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Mary. What's really amazing is it won with Carolyn Washburn at the helm. That and the fact that I only see one "face" in the picture.
ReplyDelete