The 22 award-winning entries for the annual Overseas Press Club Awards depict a world in which entire nations and millions of people have been torn apart by newly intensified forces of nationalism, extremism, disease and environmental degradation. Al Jazeera America, Los Angeles Times and The New York Times won multiple awards. The Robert Capa Gold Medal Award, which honors the best photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise, was presented to Marcus Bleasdale, a global documentary photographer, for his work “Central African Republic Inferno” done on assignment for Human Rights Watch, Foreign Policy and National Geographic Magazine.
While Middle East conflicts generated the most stories submitted for the awards this year, others covered how Western ideals of democracy and human rights are increasingly put to the test by Russian aggression and Chinese ambition. Awards were also given to stories covering nations that once hoped to make the next leap of economic development, which are now mired in conflicts over resources and workers.
“There has been a lot of tragic foreign news over the past year – from Ebola to Ukraine to the Central African Republic to ISIS – including the tragedy of murdered journalists, like James Foley” says Marcus Mabry, president of the Overseas Press Club of America and editor at large of The New York Times. “But these awards tell us that despite mortal dangers, foreign correspondence – and foreign correspondents – are more vibrant than ever. And no one can stop a free and courageous press!”
David Rohde of Thomson Reuters received the President’s Award in recognition of his journalism career and his historic effort to craft a code of conduct for safely reporting global news. Kathy Gannon of The Associated Press light the press freedom candle in memory of journalists who have died in the line of duty in the past year and in honor of those injured, missing and abducted. Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the New York Times deliver the keynote address.
There were 441 entries in this year’s competition.
AWARDS:
> PHOTOGRAPHY
• THE ROBERT CAPA GOLD MEDAL AWARD
Best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage, enterprise
Marcus Bleasdale, Human Rights Watch, Foreign Policy and National Geographic Magazine
“Central African Republic Inferno”
Marcus Bleasdale viscerally captured the brutal violence in the Central African Republic at a time when the world’s attention was focused on ISIS, Ukraine and other crises. His menacing, unnerving images of chaos had a profound impact on the judges. The images place the viewer in the moment in a way that demands and holds attention.
• THE OLIVIER REBBOT AWARD
Best photographic reporting from abroad in magazines or books
Jerome Sessini, Magnum Photos, Time and De Standaard
“Crime Without Punishment”
Jerome Sessini’s photographs of the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines jet shot down over eastern Ukraine last year captured imagery that is profoundly elegiac. There is a quiet strength that propels the narrative and shows the horrors in a manner that doesn’t make the viewer turn away from what is a difficult scene to process.
• THE JOHN FABER AWARD
Best photographic reporting from abroad in newspapers or news services
Bulent Kilic, Agence France Presse
“Euromaidan Revolution in Kiev”
Bulent Kilic brings viewers right into Ukraine’s revolution, capturing the chaos of the moment. His work is inspired visual reporting under difficult conditions. Each image can stand alone, and together they form a strong narrative.
• FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD
Best feature photography published in any medium on an international theme
Rodrigo Abd, The Associated Press
“Peru’s Illegal Gold Mining”
Rodrigo Abd shines a light on an underreported subject, the threat looming for 20,000 wildcat gold miners in Peru. His photographs are intimate and straightforward, documenting the subject without stylistic trickery, enhancing their journalistic value.
> NEWSPAPERS, NEWS SERVICES, MAGAZINES OR ONLINE
• THE HAL BOYLE AWARD
Best newspaper, news service or online reporting from abroad
Adam Nossiter, Nori Onishi, Helene Cooper, Sheri Fink and The New York Times Staff
The New York Times
“Ebola From the Front Line”
• THE BOB CONSIDINE AWARD
Best newspaper, news service or online interpretation of international affairs
Sergei Loiko and Carol Williams, Los Angeles Times
“Ukraine: A Nation Torn Apart”
• THE MALCOLM FORBES AWARD
Best international business news reporting in newspapers, news services or online
Stephen Grey and Reuters team, Reuters
“Comrade Capitalism”
• THE MADELINE DANE ROSS AWARD
Best international reporting in the print medium or online showing a concern for the human condition
Jason Motlagh and Atish Saha, The Virginia Quarterly Review
“The Ghosts of Rana Plaza”
• THE WHITMAN BASSOW AWARD
Best reporting in any medium on international environmental issues
Nick Miroff, The Washington Post
“Pushing South”
• THE ROBERT SPIERS BENJAMIN AWARD
Best reporting in any medium on Latin America
Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Tracy Wilkinson, Kate Linthicum, Cindy Carcamo and Don Bartletti, Los Angeles Times
“A Wave of Migrants”
• BEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
Best investigative reporting in any medium on an international story
C.J. Chivers, The New York Times
“Secret Casualties”
• BEST COMMENTARY
Best commentary on international news in any medium
Matthew Kaminski, The Wall Street Journal
“On Ukraine”
• THE ED CUNNINGHAM AWARD
Best magazine reporting in print or online on an international story
Matthieu Aikins and Sebastiano Tomada-Piccolomini
Medium/Matter
“Whoever Saves a Life“
• THE MORTON FRANK AWARD
Best magazine international business news reporting in print or online
Cam Simpson and Jesse Westbrook, Bloomberg Businessweek
“The Hedge Fund and the Despot”
• THE JOE and LAURIE DINE AWARD
Best international reporting in any medium dealing with human rights
Samuel Black, Anjali Kamat and Fault Lines Staff, Al Jazeera America
“America’s War Workers”
See all awards here…
The OPC Annual Awards Dinner on video :
http://youtu.be/8g9uq0uviU0
