Magazine

Time magazine cover photo wins World Press Photo of the year award

By Rachel McAthy. Originally published 11/02/11 by journalism.co.uk. This article is republished with permission.

An image which caused controversy after appearing on the cover of Time magazine has been named as the 2010 World Press Photo of the year.

The portrait of Bibi Aisha by Jodi Bieber, which appeared on the cover of the August edition of the magazine, was also awarded first prize in the Portraits Singles category.

Aisha, an 18-year-old woman from Afghanistan, had her ears and nose cut off, reportedly under the instructions of the Taliban after she had tried to flee an arranged marriage. She was later rescued by US military aid workers and now lives in the US.

According to a release from the World Press Photo (WPP) organisation, Bieber has previously won eight WPP awards and is the second South African photographer to win the highest honour in the contest.

“This could become one of those pictures - and we have maybe just ten in our lifetime - where if somebody says “you know, that picture of a girl…”, you know exactly which one they’re talking about,” jury chair David Burnett said in the release.

“It’s an incredibly strong image,” juror Ruth Eichhorn added. “It sends out an enormously powerful message to the world, about the 50 per cent of the population that are women, so many of whom still live in miserable conditions, suffering violence. It is strong because the woman looks so dignified, iconic.”

The jury gave prizes across nine themed categories to a total of 56 photographers from across the world, including Australia, Brazil, China and France.

This year’s contest saw a record number of images submitted, 108,059 in total, with just under 6,000 participating photographers representing 125 nationalities.

Bieber will receive her award, a cash prize of €10,000, during a ceremony in Amsterdam on 7 May, along with a Canon EOS Digital SLR Camera and lens kit, donated by Canon.

An exhibition of the prize-winning photography from the contest will be shown at Amsterdam’s the Oude Kerk [Old Church] from 22 April to 19 June and will then visit more than 100 locations around the world.

Tags: afghanistan, amsterdam, bibi aisha, bieber, david burnett, france, jodi bieber, jury chair, oude kerk old church, photographer, ruth eichhorn, taliban, united states, world press photo wpp, wpp,

Related articles

• Attacks on journalists take on a nasty gendered twist
• Novaya Gazeta: a new dawn for investigative journalism?
• Libya striking hard against protests – EU demands end of violence
• Media companies must become trusted data hubs
• China is not ready for the Jasmine Revolution
• Will Righthaven copyright lawsuits change excerpting online?
• How social media, internet changed experience of Japan disaster
• Character and veto power: French journalists’ two defenses against interference from owners
• Free laptops and internet connection for children in Uruguay
• The EU fails to have consistent policies protecting LGBTI people’s rights

• Home |
• Seminars  |
• Events |
• Media Landscape |
• Newsroom|
• Media News|
• Resources

Terms of service and Privacy policy.

Copyright © 1992- 2011 European Journalism Centre. All rights reserved.

Valid XHTML and CSS.

European Journalism Centre

Sonneville-lunet 10
6221KT Maastricht
The Netherlands

Tel. : +31 43 325 40 30
Fax : +32 2 400 42 20

E-mail: info[at]ejc.net