Missouri School of Journalism Names 61st Annual Pictures of the Year International Contest Winners

Columbia, Mo. (March 9, 2004) -- Winners of the 61st Annual Pictures of the Year International (POYi) Competition, one of the world's largest and most prestigious photojournalism contests, were announced by the Missouri School of Journalism.

Judges viewed nearly 26,000 photographs, 2,500 newspaper and magazine pages, submitted by more than 1,300 newspaper and magazine photographers and editors from 338 publications from more than 25 countries. Awards were given in 46 distinct categories by a panel of 14 of the world's leading photographers and editors, who made the winning selections during 19 days of judging from Feb. 15 through March 2 on the MU campus.

The following School of Journalism alumni were winners in the 61st Annual Pictures of the Year International awards:

• Jodi Cobb
• Randy Cox
• Manny Crisostomo
• David Alan Harvey
• Torsten Kjellstrand
• Tim LaBarge
• Becky Lebowitz
• Scott Lewis
• John J. Lopinot
• Ron Mann
• Melina Mara
• Thomas F. McGuire
• Paula Nelson
• Randy Olson
• Rhonda Prast
• Patty Reksten
• Jim Lo Scalzo
• John Scanlan
• Eric Seals
• Bill Sikes
• Laurie Skrivan
• Jeffrey W. Thompson
• John Trotter
• Davis Turner

• Kathy Andrisevic
• Fred Barnes
• Jan Colbert
• Mike Davis
• David Alan Harvey
• Rhonda Prast

Carolyn Cole of The Los Angeles Times was named Newspaper Photographer of the Year (NPOY), the competition's top award in the newspaper division. Cole's competition portfolio included a body of work from the Iraqi war and aftermath. The judges were impressed with the strong personal connection and bringing humanity to times of violence and upheaval. Jacob Ehrbahn, a staff photographer with the Danish newspaper Politiken, received second place NPOY. His portfolio contained a story about homeless children in Mongolia who live in heating tunnels under the streets and another strong story about Afghanistan after the war. Mark Zaleski, photographer at the Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.) received third place NPOY. His portfolio contained stories about an obese boy, another about the California wildfires and an essay on a morgue. Bryan Patrick, staff photographer with The Sacramento Bee, won an Award of Excellence for his portfolio.

James Nachtwey of VII / TIME magazine was named Magazine Photographer of the Year (MPOY) for an unprecedented eighth time. His winning portfolio includes stories about the Iraq war, with pictures that represented both the Iraq and the U.S. troops' point of views. Christopher Morris, also with VII / TIME, received second place MPOY. His work also included moving photography from the Iraqi war. Roger LeMoyne of Redux/Getty, received third place MPOY, and his portfolio contains stories about life in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as images from Iraq.

Danny Wilcox Frazier, a freelance photographer, received the Community Awareness Award for his essay, "Through a Lens Darkly: Photographs from Rural Iowa," His photographs formed a tone poem explaining the transition of Iowa farms once prosperous, now because of economic difficulties and new immigrants seeking a new identity. Nancy Pastor won a Judges Special Recognition for her work with the Maryland tobacco farmers and the issues of smoking and attendant diseases caused by smoking. She is a staff photographer with the Washington Times.

David Lurie with London's IPG photo agency won the World Understanding Award for the story "Capetown Fringe: Manenberg Avenue is where it's happening," an inside-out look at a hellish life of drugs and violence which remains after the various changes in the social structure of South Africa.

Best Photography book went to VII's book, "War" with Judges Special Recognition to David Alan Harvey's "Divided Soul", and Ed Kashi's "Aging in America: The Years Ahead."

The Los Angeles Times won the Angus McDougall Overall Excellence in Editing Award, in recognition of the newspaper's consistently high level of work in picture editing and presentation. TIME magazine and The New York Times Magazine tied for first place in the Best Use of Photographs by a Magazine category. The Jasper Herald won first place in the Best Use of Photographs by a Newspaper under 100,000 and The Los Angeles Times in the same category over 100,000.

The public is invited to choose their single Best Picture of the Year Award. Nominees will be posted on the Internet at www.msnbc.com where online voters can register and cast their ballots.

These and other winners will be honored during the annual POYi awards ceremonies and education programs, April 16 and 17, at the Missouri School of Journalism. The program will be open to the public.

For further information about POYi or to view the winning photographs, visit the POYi web site at www.poyi.org.