Domestic News Single
First place: Mike Urban, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Winner's Comments:
"Man, it's kinda nice to be honored. I am not sure what to say... I've been pursuing an NPPA national award for 14 years. I have won lots of local stuff, but this is different. It's a huge honor for me, this picture has been the subject of great discussion in our city and our newsroom. I hope that the judges will take under consideration all of the factors involved. People need to see this picture. I am honored by you all. Our paper did not publish the picture, while I disagreed with the decision that our editors made, I do respect it." -- Mike Urban

Additional Comments from Kenny Irby's conversation with Urban:
For Urban, Seattle's Fat Tuesday celebration in Seattle's Pioneer Square district was "a frightening experience to witness." Urban clearly recalled that during the violent culmination of a week of Mardi Gras festivities he "finally got scared enough in the crowd that I looked to get to higher ground." He added, "I worked my way to a perch atop of a fire escape and convinced the owner to allow me to stay there. When he saw what was going on below me, he allowed me to stay."

"Things had gotten out of control and I could not really take pictures from the crowd as I worked with my Canon D-2000 digital cameras. I saw this woman who in typical Mardi Gras fashion was asked to raise her top, when she refused. They (the men around her) began to reach at her and tear her clothes. In the fury of the moment, I got off 12 frames or so and then my camera overheated. This is a normal defect of that version of digital camera (we are getting new EOS-1D's soon)."

"I was shocked and somewhat dazed as this... it was like a sporting event, where things happen so fast and you are not sure that you got the picture, whether or not it is in focus and usable..."

"It happened so fast that the sea of people cleared and the woman just disappeared; there was no time for me to do anything."

"Back in the office the editors made a decision not to publish the picture because of concerns for the victim's identity. I wanted the picture to run and while I disagreed with the decision, I did respect the decision."

"I am shocked by the total brutality of this, even more horrified by the fact that no one is doing anything to stop this violent act. I live in Seattle and never saw this picture. I feel that it needs to be seen." -- Cheryl Hatch

"This is one powerful picture, it is tough to look at and captures an inhumane situation. The picture makes me incredibly angry and will hopefully make others angry enough to act as a result of seeing it. Journalism is supposed to shine a light on the wrongs of our world. Sexual abuse is often a secret crime and this is one of those rare cases where we have an opportunity to show just how horrific these acts are. We have a responsibility to be caring for the victim and to show people the reality of these actions. I apologize for the grief this image could cause this woman on levels that I can't possibly understand. My hope is that she will feel some vindication that her perpetrators have been identified and hope that they will at some point be made accountable for their actions. It would be valuable to have the video tape surface to help identify the perpetrators on the other side the picture for example."
-- Brian Storm

"I think that we honored a process here that we should acknowledge... The original decision was made and we stood by our first decision, but we were not so rigid in our thinking that we did not stop to consider the consequences of the decision. So, the judging process is a reasonably swift and decisive moment. After that, issues were brought to the table, considerations were weighed... Everybody in here (was) weighing some very difficult choices... the difference between honoring and respecting the moral imperative of your profession and honoring and respecting the dignity of a single human being. And for me that was the hardest part..." -- Cheryl Hatch

"This has been a comprehensive, well thought-out discussion. I think that knowledge is power. Sometimes it's hard to get to and it's risky and it's scary to push on things like that, but ultimately I think that the greatest atrocities in our world, are a result of not having enough knowledge. So, I would rather err on the side of education and also think that we are looking at the greater good. I would feel really, really, badly if the individual has more damage done to her as a result of this. I would rather, push, push, push, the human condition and say 'look, let's fix this.'" -- Brian Storm

"I always ask my photographers, when they take pictures, if they would like to be on the other side of the table in these situations and having somebody else take their picture... that generates a very good human quality in the picture-taking of my photographers... I say that that there was no doubt in my mind, whatsoever, when I saw this picture that for us (in Argentina) it was a publishable picture, but also that is the kind of fast decision that I have to make... but I would have digitized the face. I say that the face of the victim in this picture is extremely unimportant, so digitizing it preserves the personal rights of the victim and I am all for (that)... the victim deserves all the respect in the world. For the record... I would like to raise the subject that (regarding) the concern for the local news by my esteemed colleagues... I do believe that if we stop this picture from being printed, we should as well stop very many international or foreign pictures. The most important part of this, is that (not publishing this photo brought us to a point where) we are... imposing a double standard (of applying one standard for a photograph taken locally in the United States and another for those captured abroad)."
-- Horacio Villalobos

"This picture was different to me, I don't think that the digitizing is an issue; that is an ethical issue, it is not a photo manipulation issue in this case (because the purpose of the alteration is protection of the subject rather than deception of the viewer). That is the only thing that makes me at all comfortable with proceeding with sharing this picture, in the hopes that some good will come from it. The thought that this could cause any further harm is very difficult. I could never publish this picture (at Time) and so in this forum, this contest gives us an opportunity -- as journalists-- to do something that most of maybe could not do in our regular jobs and hope that good will come out of it." -- Michele Stephenson