Rosenblum’s Renegades

Michael Rosenblum and his Concentra-backed DNA conference put their money where their mouths are.A hefty 10,000 Euros prize for best video journalist of the year and hardware for best breaking news vj. 4 of the 8 finalists work for newspapers and the big winner was Alexandra Garcia of the Washington Post for her feature on the "shocking quality of dental care" in a rural part of Virginia. Roads jammed with families desperate for dental care at a free clinic. A toddler with potentially fatal abcesses in his mouth. Breaking news award to filmaker Subina Shrestha for her exclusive story for Al Jazeera English on the victims of the cyclone Nargis in Myanmar – see a segment above.. Unforgettable images of forgotten bloated bloddies floating down the Irawaddy river. Rosenblum thinks that the solution to all journalism is unleashing vj’s trained and given the "grammar" of good storytelling. He wants to mothball newsrooms and cull non-vj journalists. He’s got no answer for how to replace traditional root and branch newsgathering. But these vj winners and finalists are impressive, and Rosenblum rightly can claim credit for championing and rewarding them.