Citizen photographer David Mah received national recognition for his photography on Friday night.
Mah won the Canadian Community Newspaper Award for Best Spot News Coverage in the 12,500 circulation and over category. His controversial photo of Darren Munch, who was killed by gang violence in August, 2010, hedged out finalists Andrew Leong of the Cowichan New Leader Pictorial and Dave Eagles of Kamloops This Week.
"To have my photo chosen at that level is amazing," Mah said. "I didn't think that photo would put us on the national map of crime."
The death of someone is always a very sensitive subject, Mah said, but the photo depicted the peak of the crime situation in the city.
The image of shocking violence on a residential street was the impetus for a gang crime summit hosted by the Prince George Citizen, Prince George RCMP and City of Prince George.
"There are moments in a journalist's life when he or she can make a profound difference," Citizen managing editor Sylvie Paillard said. "Dave's moment came in the midst of a horrible, gruesome crime. He was nonetheless steadfast in capturing the horror, which ultimately altered public perception and the way Prince George approaches gang violence. There's no doubt Dave earned this prestigious award. Congratulations from the entire organization."
The award was presented in Richmond on Friday night at the INK+BEYOND conference, hosted by Newspapers Canada.
