(WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feb. 27, 2022) – The White House News Photographers Association® announced the winners of the Digital Storytelling categories in the annual ‘Eyes of History®’ competition.
Angélica María Casas of BBC News was awarded Multimedia Journalist of the Year in 2021. She was also recognized for her feature and issue reporting in 2021.
Whiney Shefte, President of the White House News Photographers Association, said: “Congratulations to Angélica Casas for winning the top award in our Digital Storytelling Contest. Her work was timely and important, and we were impressed by her powerful reporting under difficult circumstances.”
When told of her win by the judges Casas said, “I am humbled and honored to receive this award from the White House News Photographers Association. Beyond recognizing me as a visual journalist this award more importantly shines a light on those who have let me tell their stories during some of the most vulnerable times of their life. The most crucial part of this job for me has always been to show diverse slices of the human experience. Video as a medium allows me to do that in a raw and intimate way and, like many of us in this industry, I can’t imagine doing anything else. Thank you, WHNPA, and thank you BBC News for giving me a space to do this work.”
Because of the ongoing pandemic the digital still, broadcast and student competitions were held virtually.
The judges for the Digital Storytelling competition were Sue Morrow, Juanita Ceballos and Brian Kaufman.
Winners in other categories included digital journalists from The Washington Post, NPR and USA Today.
“It’s a good sign for us, as a profession, that we were stunned by the high-quality work throughout the contest,” said Morrow, editor and creative director for NPPA’s News Photographer magazine. “Looking at all these entries, it continues to give me hope for our profession and where we’re at in this county. Visual journalists worldwide continue to tell the stories that need to be told.”
Juanita Ceballos, a documentary producer and cinematographer with VICE News, was impressed with how immersive these pieces were and the quality of work, and said, “The quality of the work was impressive – the power of the image was on full display. Through sights and sounds, the journalists transported us to the most relevant stories of 2021. I was particularly struck by how immersive the pieces were. It is encouraging to know that newsrooms are continuing to invest in quality visual storytelling, a pillar of our trade.”
Brian Kaufman, Executive Video Producer at the Detroit Free Press, was struck by “the quality of documentary-style packages. There were so many of them. To see that level of work being done by so many people, who were willing to spend the time, is awesome to see.”
Full results from all contests are available on the WHNPA website at www.whnpa.org.
The top winners of the still, broadcast, 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 101st anniversary in 2022.
The White House News Photographers Association is a 101-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.
