The White House News Photographers Association® announced that Ben Martin of ITN News has been awarded the 2018 WHNPA Video Photographer of the Year in the annual ‘Eyes of History®’ video contest. Chris Shlemon, also of ITN has been named Video Editor of the Year- for the 7th time.
The top award for Martin came after first place wins in Spot News, Day Feature, Feature and Audio categories. When told of his win Martin said, “This is so unbelievable and unexpected, I’m stunned! It’s such a privilege to have a front row seat in Washington in this unprecedented year for news and help explain it to the rest of the world. I’m incredibly humbled to be recognized by the WHNPA.”
Shlemon won the award as 2018 WHNPA Video Editor of the Year for his first-place finishes in categories that included News Feature Audio and said, “I’m thrilled to achieve this honor in what has been one of the most intense years of my three decades of news editing. It’s due to the hard work of my team and our enduring enthusiasm for what we do every day. We work hard to make our pieces stand out. ”
WHNPA President Whitney Shefte said, ” Ben Martin and Chris Shlemon prove themselves yet again to be the best in video journalism. We are so pleased to honor both of these talented colleagues with our top video awards.”
The judges for the video photography contest were: Tom Bjliec, Carlos Cortes and Carmaine, Means. The video editing judges were: Jesus Gonzalez, Audrey Haynes and Jacquline Quynh.
“Judging was hard. Thought provoking, inspiring and sometimes excruciating. It was a pleasure to watch some masterfully executed pieces,” said Haynes. Means said of Martin’s work, “overall his skillset is 100%.”
Judging for the still, multimedia and student contests were also held at National Geographic over the weekend.
The top winners of the still, video, multimedia and student contests will be honored at the annual ‘Eyes of History®’ gala on June 16, 2018, at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington. The black-tie event celebrates all the winning photojournalists and the President of the United States. Nearly 1,000 guests, including government dignitaries and industry celebrities, attend.
The White House News Photographers Association is a 97-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of Washington’s professional photojournalists. The WHNPA aims to provide professional and educational outreach to its members and the community through scholarships, programming, an annual competition and a celebration of the industry at the annual “Eyes of History®” gala.
