Multimedia Journalist of the Year
Whitney Shefte, The Washington Post
Portfolio
News Story
First - The Washington Post: "The Rescuers"
Second - The Washington Post: "Happiness, hope and anger: South Koreans weigh in on the Trump-Kim summit"
Third - The Washington Post: "Florida school shooting survivors head to Tallahassee to demand change"
Award of Excellence - The Washington Post: "It looks like a war zone’: Search and rescue teams continue work in California fire"
Issue Reporting
First - The Washington Post: "Audio, texts show how two men worked to discredit one of Roy Moore’s accusers"
Second - NPR: "Tariffs Create Tension For Factory Workers Who Supported Trump"
Third - The Washington Post: "Return to Ferguson"
Award of Excellence - The Washington Post: "Witness to murder: How one testimony led to the arrest of a killer."
Feature Story
First - McClatchy: "Ground Game"
Second - The Washington Post: "Chevy Chase: 'I'm proud to be who I am'"
Third - The Washington Post: "A mother shows what it is like to raise a baby in prison"
Award of Excellence - The Washington Post: "Being a clown in 2018: ‘We may be down, but we're not out’"
Sports
Award of Excellence - The Washington Post: "Mya Fourstar"
Animation
First - NPR: "How Birds-To-Be Get Oxygen Inside Eggs"
Second - NPR: "Bullets: A Physics Primer"
Third - The Washington Post: "How 'Respect,' Aretha Franklin's iconic song, came to be"
Award of Excellence - The Washington Post: "Anyone can create a new emoji. Here’s an animated guide to doing it right"
One-Off
First - NPR: "How To Find The Summer Constellations (360° Video)"
Second - The Washington Post: "Fentanyl: The deadly drug haunting America"
Third - The Washington Post: "Do you know how to judge figure skating?"
Award of Excellence - McClatchy: "All We Got"
Documentary
First - New York Times: "How a Community Was Sacrificed to Save Houston"
Second - The Washington Post: "This town says it's dying of cancer. Can one doctor help them get out?"
Third - McClatchy: "Ground Game Texas - Episode 5: On the fence"
Award of Excellence - McClatchy: "The War Within - Episode 5: 'Best day ever!'"
Award of Excellence - The Washington Post: "The Foreign Consultant: The spectacular rise and fall of Paul Manafort"
Explainer
First - NPR: "Getting Over Your Ex, With Science"
Second - NPR: "Why Are Cities Still So Segregated?"
Third - The Washington Post: "How to win a trade war"
Award of Excellence - BBC: "Why Parkland is different - the evidence"
Best Multimedia Package
First - The Washington Post: "Luge Yourself"
Second - McClatchy: "The War Within"
2019 Multimedia Judges
Elaine McMillion Sheldon
Elaine McMillion Sheldon is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker. She is the director of two Netflix Original Documentaries – “Heroin(e)” and “Recovery Boys” – that explore America’s opioid crisis. “Heroin(e)” was nominated for a 2018 Academy Award and won the 2018 Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Documentary. In 2013, she released “Hollow,” an interactive documentary that examines the future of rural America through the eyes and voices of West Virginians. Hollow received a Peabody, Emmy nomination and 3rd Prize in the World Press Photo Multimedia Awards. Sheldon has appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Anthony Bourdain’s CNN Show Parts Unknown and Meet The Press with Chuck Todd. She was recently named a 2018 USA Fellow by United States Artists, one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine and one of “50 People Changing The South” by Southern Living Magazine. In 2016, Chicken & Egg Pictures awarded her with the inaugural “Breakthrough Filmmaker” award. She’s a founding member of All Y’all Southern Documentary Collective. She has been commissioned by Frontline PBS, The Center for Investigative Reporting, The New York Times Op-Docs, TEDWomen, Field of Vision, and The Bitter Southerner.
Duy Linh Tu
Duy Linh Tu is a journalist and documentary filmmaker, focusing on education, science, and social justice. His work has appeared in print, online, on television, and in theaters. He is also the author of “Narrative Storytelling for Multimedia Journalists” (Focal Press).
Professor Tu teaches reporting and video storytelling courses at the Journalism School. He is also a graduate of the program.
Ben Werschkul
Ben Werschkul has been in the digital video game for almost 2 decades. He has covered everything from hurricanes to political primaries. Currently, he is the Washington producer for Yahoo Finance. Previously, he worked as a producer and team leader at CNN and The New York Times.