COLUMBIA, Mo. — 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.

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, CA) 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. [more...]

Robert Hanashiro is a staff photographer for USA Today, the founder and editor of SportsShooter.com and one of the judges for this year's Newspaper Division of Pictures of the Year International.

You can read his first-hand insider's account of this year's contest in the SportsShooter.com newsletter.

TO Friends of Photojournalism
FROM David Rees, POYi Director

POYi and NPPA have for years shared the same goal of fostering excellence in photojournalism. I regret that we parted ways three years ago. POYi's integrity and value as a competition to recognize outstanding photojournalism, editing and use was certainly enhanced through association with NPPA. [more...]