(WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feb. 28, 2021) – The White House News Photographers Association® announced the winners of the Digital Storytelling categories in the annual ‘Eyes of History®’ competition.
Drea Cornejo of The Washington Post won Multimedia Visual Journalist of the Year.
The judges for the Digital Storytelling competition were: Andrea Patino Contreras, Univision Noticias Digital; Danese Kenon,
Philadelphia Inquirer; and Sky Dylan-Robbins, Video Consortium.
When told of her win, Cornejo said: “It is such an honor to receive this award – I owe it to all the wonderful people who have welcomed me into their lives and trusted me to help tell their stories. It is such a privilege to be able to uplift their voices. And a huge thanks to my manager Nicki, who has always supported me and guided me every step of the way.”
“Huge congratulations to Drea for her big win! But it’s not surprising given that she was our student video winner several years ago. Her work continues to get better and better, and we’re so glad to see her win this top honor,” said WHNPA president Whitney Shefte.
Because of the ongoing pandemic the digital still, video and student competitions were held virtually.
Digital judge Andrea Patino Contrera said: “Drea’s work stood out for its strong storytelling and editing, as well as its ability to capture characters in their full humanity, even in some of the most difficult situations.”
“It was nice to see a body of work that reflected many of the complex issues and topics we struggled with in 2020,” said Danese Kenon. “The entries were inspiring and showcased the work of many visual journalists that I hope continue to get the support they need to do this work.”
The top winners of the still, video, digital and student contests will be honored at the annual ‘Eyes of History ’ gala later this year in Washington. The black-tie event celebrates all the winning visual journalists. The WHNPA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2021.
The White House News Photographers Association is a 100-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of Washington’s professional visual journalists. 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.
For more information, please contact Whitney Shefte at president@54.85.141.172 or executive director Heidi Elswick at heidi@54.85.141.172 (301-606-8251). For further information about ‘The Eyes of History ’ and to view the winning images and videos, visit the WHNPA website at www.whnpa.org.
