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Guardian special report wins Journalism.co.uk multimedia storytelling competition

Posted: 01/02/08 By: Oliver Luft
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A special report looking at the provision of education in an area of Mali has won the inaugural Journalism.co.uk multimedia reporting competition.

Judges praised the combined use of voiceover, stills and video footage within a series of slideshows, that made up the Learning Lessons in Africa report, calling it a 'compelling story' and a 'seamless piece of journalism' that set it apart from other more technically adventurous projects.

Photographer Ami Vitale and videographer Dan Chung complied footage in Mali for the report (pictured above), which was then produced by Elliot Smith with interactive design by Paddy Allen and published online by the Guardian.

"Of all the entries we received, this one stood out for its intelligent combination of stills photography, video and simple, but powerful, narration. Emotionally moving and an inspiration to anyone who fears for the future of photojournalism," said John Thompson, publisher of Journalism.co.uk and chair of the judging panel.

The runner-up prize has been awarded to the Financial Times' Kabul correspondent, Jon Boone, for the way in which he single-handedly documented his a journey with landmine clearers in
Afghanistan (pictured below).

landmines

"One reporter out in the field using simple multimedia tools to add a visual supplement to a story," said Mr Thompson.

"It's not until you see the stills slideshow that you fully appreciate the horrifically close proximity of children in Afghanistan - in this case a school right next to the clearing site - to fields full of viable mines dating back over 30 years of war."

The prize winners will share a selection of snazzy travel bags, kindly provided by the good people at Sandstorm Kenya, which they will no doubt ruin by filling with laptops, cables, cameras, lights, video equipment, phones, GPS and spare batteries as they hop off to their next assignment.

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