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04/16/07
AP PRESS RELEASE
Oded Balilty wins SDX award for spot news photography for
his AP image of a defiant Jewish settler
NEW YORK -- Associated Press photographer Oded Balilty has
won the Sigma Delta Chi Award in spot news photography for
his photo of a defiant Jewish settler. The SDX award will
be presented by the Society of Professional Journalists at
the July 20 awards dinner at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C.
"This award is a fitting tribute to Oded Balilty for
an iconic image from a very chaotic situation. Balilty is
an extremely talented and dedicated photojournalist who repeatedly
succeeds in making unique and creative photographs from every
story he covers," said AP Director of Photography Santiago
Lyon.
Balilty was born in Jerusalem, where he is currently based.
He learned the basics of photojournalism as a photographer
for the magazine of the Israeli Defense Forces. After completing
his military service, he worked as a photographer for the
ZOOM 77 agency and the daily paper Yedioth Ahronot. In 2002,
at the height of the Palestinian Intifada, the AP hired Balilty
for its Jerusalem photo staff.
In addition to Middle East issues, Balilty has covered the
2004 Ukrainian elections and subsequent demonstrations, the
20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, and the
2006 war in Lebanon. He was one of 12 photographers selected
to attend the prestigious World Press Photo 2005 Joop Swart
Masterclass in Amsterdam. His work has been exhibited at galleries
and museums in Switzerland and France, including Visa pour
l’Image 2004 in Perpignan, France, a group exhibition
of AP coverage of the Intifada.
The SDX awards recognize the best in professional journalism
in 49 categories, including photography. Here's the original
AP caption for Balilty's award-winning spot news photography
photo: A Jewish settler struggles with an Israeli security
officer during clashes that erupted as authorities evacuated
the West Bank settlement outpost of Amona, east of the Palestinian
town of Ramallah, Wednesday Feb. 1, 2006. Thousands of troops
in riot gear and on horseback clashed with hundreds of stone-throwing
Jewish settlers holed up behind barbed wire and on rooftops
in this illegal West Bank settlement outpost Wednesday, after
the Supreme Court cleared the way for the demolition of nine
homes at the site. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
The image also has won the following awards:
World Press Photo -- People in the News -- First Prize
Pictures of the Year International (POYi) -- Human Conflict
-- First Place
National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) -- General
News -- First Place
Atlanta Photojournalism 2006 -- Spot/General News -- First
Place, also Best in Show
Headliner Awards
2007 -- Spot News Photography -- First Place
See the photo
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Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720
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