Loyalist College Photojournalism graduate Chris Donovan wins World Press Photo for Sports, Stories

Belleville, Ontario, May 5, 2021 – In the World Press Photo Foundation’s 2021 World Press Photo Contest, Loyalist College Photojournalism graduate Chris Donovan (2017) won first prize in the category Sports, Stories for ‘Those Who Stay Will Be Champions,’ a photo essay about the Flint Jaguars basketball team. Donovan was also a finalist for Story of the Year.

“Chris is skilled at capturing raw, poignant moments that bring social justice issues to the surface while visually illustrating the power of sport,” said Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan, Loyalist College President and CEO. “In ‘Those Who Stay Will Be Champions’ we see so clearly that in times of great adversity, sports can bind communities and generate collective success. We are so proud of Chris and delighted his work is being recognized on the world stage, alongside his international colleagues who bring important untold and underrepresented stories to light.”

Donovan is an award-winning freelance photojournalist inspired by his home town of Saint John, New Brunswick. He visually depicts the intersections of community and industry, primarily working on long-term documentary projects. ‘Those Who Stay Will Be Champions’ will be included in the annual World Press Photo Exhibition tour and featured in the World Press Photo Yearbook 2021.

[Click on an image to see the gallery.]

“It’s important for me to portray Flint as a city like any other,” said Donovan. “One where people experience a full range of human emotions, from joy to love to tragedy. Sports holds all of these things. In a way, the game is simply a metaphor for the victories and defeats of life. Photographing young people also allowed me to focus on the future and showcase some of the people who will fight to champion Flint as adults.”

The World Press Photo Foundation believes in the power of showing and the importance of seeing high-quality visual stories. Their purpose is to connect the world to the stories that matter. For six decades, the World Press Photo Foundation has been working from its home in Amsterdam as an independent, non-profit organization. In that time, the world has changed continuously, and new developments in the media and technology have transformed journalism and storytelling.

Winning photographs from the 2021 World Press Photo Contest were selected from 74,470 images submitted by 4,315 photographers from 130 countries. Chaired by NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, the jury of internationally recognized professionals in the fields of photojournalism and documentary photography conducted the judging process entirely online. Entries were judged over a six-week period, in several rounds, between January 16 and February 23, 2021.

Students in Loyalist College’s two-year Photojournalism Ontario college diploma program come from across Canada and around the world for the ‘triple-threat skill set’ of multimedia storytelling through video production, digital photography, and news and feature writing. This program gives graduates a competitive advantage as cross-platform photojournalists, multimedia producers and editors, photographers, picture and assignment editors, and digital publishing specialists. Graduates often work nationally and internationally in producing multimedia content creation for news organizations, wire services, and digital and traditional publishers. They are employed by multimedia companies including Bloomberg News, ESPN, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Getty Images, Postmedia Network Inc., Star Metroland Media, The Wall Street Journal, and Torstar Corporation, among others.

About Loyalist College
Ranked one of Canada’s top 50 research colleges and #1 in the country for industry research income as a percentage of total research income, Loyalist College empowers students, faculty, staff, and partners through experiential, industry cluster-based education, training and applied research programs. As Ontario’s Destination College, the College provides job-ready graduates for, and knowledge transfer to, industry and the community. Of 2017-18 Loyalist graduates, 88.5 percent were employed within six months after graduation. Located on more than 200 acres in the beautiful Bay of Quinte region, the College is perfectly positioned between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Loyalist College offers more than 70 full-time diploma, certificate and apprenticeship programs in biosciences, building sciences, business, community service, health and wellness, media studies, public safety, and skilled trades. Continuing education options are available through LoyalistFocus.com, including hundreds of online, distance and in-class courses, and through the College’s 100+ university transfer agreements. Loyalist College is a key driver of social and economic health in eastern Ontario. It contributes 3.7 percent of the Gross Regional Product, representing $382 million annually to the regional economy – based on a March 2020 report by Emsi. For more information on Loyalist College’s Belleville, Bancroft and Toronto campuses and Port Hope satellite location, visit YoureGoingPlaces.com.

– 30 –

Contact: Kerry Lorimer, Director, Marketing, Communications and Recruitment
Loyalist College, klorimer@loyalistcollege.com, 613-969-1913, ext. 2536