News images need not just convey a happening

The big winner — John Stanmeyer from National Geographic — at the World Press Photo awards this year was not for taking a ‘breaking news’ sort of image. Instead, it shows migrants in Djibouti raising their mobiles near the coast searching for a signal in neighbouring Somalia.

Djibouti is a common stop for those migrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea seeking a better life in Europe and the Middle East. In an interview with The New York Times blog, Stanmeyer said the photo captures universal themes such as migration, technology and globalisation. “We migrated in search of a better life, but always need to connect to our home. I could be any one of those people trying to communicate with my family. I’m on the road 250 days a year, “ Stanmeyer said.

According to David Guttenfelder, Associated Press photographer and one of the judges for the awards, said the image is not what one expects from a purely journalistic perspective. “It can cause debate, but will signal to photographers that they can cover events with a different visual language and be taken seriously,” Guttenfelder said, justifying the choice.

The winners were announced in Amsterdam last week. According to the organisation, 10 finalist images were disqualified for having been digitally modified. An independent expert examined the files and found evidence indicating that information had been removed or tones altered. The disqualifications represent just 8 per cent of the entries.

Meanwhile, Press Cartoon Europe has announced the 2014 winner — Rodrigo De Matos from the Expresso newspaper in Portugal, who won the Grand Prix. The competition is open to all cartoonists who publish in European newspapers, magazines or electronic media and the first prize is €8,000 (Dh40,359) plus a bronze statue.