AMER News Photo Story of the Year
1st Place
John Moore
“At Getty Images we excel at covering breaking news, but we really pride ourselves on giving time to tell the stories behind the headlines. In that spirit, John Moore headed to Ecuador to shoot this remarkable reportage on gang violence that is entrenched in the country. Time and again, John perseveres to get the extraordinary access that allows him to cover his chosen subject thoroughly. This set of pictures shows how the police raid the homes of gang members, allowing the viewer to feel as if they are right there in the action as he shoots from inside their houses, even the bedrooms. He weaves the story of narco-traffickers into the everyday lives of the Ecuadorian people. This juxtaposition helps us understand what animates the government’s policy, and what has motivated countless Ecuadorians to leave their homes and head to the US in search of a new life. This was a hard round to judge, but we felt this set of pictures displays photojournalism at its best.”
Ecuador's "Internal Armed Conflict"
By early 2024 Ecuador, traditionally one of South America’s most peaceful nations, had one of the highest homicide rates in the world for a country not at war. Many citizens fled coastal areas most affected by gang extortion and violence, either relocating to other parts of Ecuador or journeying by the thousands to the United States. In January masked criminals took over a live TV broadcast in Guayaquil, spurring President Daniel Noboa to declare a state of “internal armed conflict, which gave the government extraordinary powers. Police and military began arresting thousands in a nationwide crackdown on some twenty gangs which the government declared as terrorist organizations. Many citizens in the country were willing to give up some civil liberties in exchange for a return to normality, although enduring positive results remain to be seen.
2nd Place
Anna Moneymaker
‘Butler, Pennsylvania’
On July 13th, 2024, Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was shot at onstage during a campaign rally by a gunman eight minutes into his speech. Within seconds U.S. Secret Service agents rushed the stage to cover President Trump. After being lifted up by agents to be walked off the stage President Trump raised up his fist to his crowd of supporters.
3rd Place
Chip Somodevilla
‘New Limbs, New Lives’
Ukrainian veterans of the 2022 Russian invasion have traveled to Minnesota to receive free prosthetics, physical therapy, counseling and other care from the Protez Foundation. Co-founded by Chief Medical Officer Yakov Gradinar and CEO Yury Aroshidze, both originally from Ukraine, the Twin Cities foundation's clinic has provided care for more than 250 soldiers who have been injured defending their country from the Russian invasion since 2022. Each of the soldiers who have come to the Twin Cities exhibit a fighting spirit. With the help of the team at Protez, the injured warriors make fast progress, achieving in weeks what may take other amputees months to do. Almost every one of them talk of returning to their units in Ukraine to continue the fight, if not on the front lines, then in a training capacity or in drone warfare.
Honerable Mention
Mario Tama
‘New Normal’
In 2024, FEMA declared 179 disasters in the U.S. in 2024, one nearly every two days, which is the ‘new normal’ according to former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. The Fifth National Climate Change Assessment released in 2023 states that ‘without deeper cuts in global net greenhouse gas emissions and accelerated adaptation efforts, severe climate risks to the United States will continue to grow.’ According to NASA, "As Earth's climate changes, it is impacting extreme weather across the planet. Record-breaking heat waves on land and in the ocean, drenching rains, severe floods, years-long droughts, extreme wildfires, and widespread flooding during hurricanes are all becoming more frequent and more intense."
