Photographer Sara Guevara and reporter Ashley Fielding produced the four-minute audio slideshow about 15-year-old Emily Ibarra’s "los quince años," a tradition that is a mix between a Jewish bat mitzvah, an American "Sweet 16" and a debutante ball.
Over several months, Guevara and Fielding chronicled Ibarra and her family as they got ready for the event. The package include a story and photos in the print edition of The Times, as well as several videos and the slideshow on gainesvilletimes.com
"Sara and Ashley put a great deal of time and energy into this project, and they deserve this honor," Mitch Clarke, executive editor, said. "Their efforts are an wonderful example of how The Times and gainesvilletimes.com try to tell the stories of Northeast Georgia across both print and multimedia platforms."
The National Press Photographers Association, a professional society dedicated to the advancement of photojournalism, conducts a nationwide competition each month in several categories.
First place in the December audio slideshow contest went to The New York Times; second place was won by the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.