Jay Korff-It was a pleasure watching and judging the finalists in this category. Every story blended outstanding photography and storytelling with precise teamwork. The winning entry, “It's Football Sir,” muscled out the competition with a truly Herculean effort. It covered a typical Navy football game with the logistical planning and execution of a finely tuned military machine. Every photographer was in the right place at the right time. The end result made you feel like you were in the middle of every play. It's important to note that the second place finisher deserves credit for telling a particularly moving story, as well.

Joel Eagle-Five fantastic stories!!! In the end, “It's Football Sir” gets the nod. A true team effort, it showed great planning, and covered game day without missing a single detail. I thought I was back in Annapolis for a few minutes.
Another truly unique standout in this category was “The light From 1,436 Ft.” Amazing use of the helicopter and wireless. Ken Speake, you're an inspiration. Good luck in retirement.

Regina McCombs-This was fun to judge because the work was outstanding. All the stories we brought into the final round placed, but it took some discussion to sort out the order. We put a lot of weight on the team aspect -- the planning, coordination and working together. One downside -- two very good spot news stories just couldn't hold their own against the features.

Mike Humphries-Comments to come.

Stephanie Ottjepka-Comments to come.

Erica Simpson-“It's Football, Sir” really stood out as the winner in this category. It is a perfect example of stellar teamwork. Coverage of this
event could easily have been mediocre, but the final product was exciting, interesting and made me feel like I was there. “Willmar Kids” was a very close second place, with outstanding storytelling and coverage. "Skyway Race," which came in third, was well executed with what clearly must have been tricky logistics. Our honorable mentions were also great. All five of these stories are wonderful examples of carefully planned teamwork.

Mark Morache-"It's Football, Sir" is a stellar example of a team of photographers working seamlessly together. There was obviously a lot of thought and planning to make this team work so well. When the big moments happened in the story, they had all the angles covered, and weaved them together. The shots were tight when they needed to be tight, and wide when they needed to be wide.
"Willmar's Kids" was second only by a breath. It had everything. I can remember about a dozen great moments, and I always feel lucky if my stories have one or two. I also want to rave about "The Light from 1436 Ft." It didn't require the planning or a whole lot of gymnastics to accomplish, but it was done perfectly. In the hands of lesser photographers, it could have been bland, but the angles, the sequencing, the pacing and the precise use of sound made it wonderfully memorable.

Merry Murray-Comments to come.

Ram Guzman-Comments to come.