“Straight Voice”, Yasuyoshi Chiba, the 2020 World Press Photo of the Year.
World Press Photo contest is an annual photo contest for visual journalism. 2020 World Press Photo contest has decided Yasuyoshi Chiba’s photo “Straight Voice” as the first prize photo of the year in category general news. Yasuyoshi Chiba is a photographer of Agence France-Presse, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Before 2020, Chiba was the first winner of the same photo contest in 2009 and 2012, for category ‘people in the news’.
“Straight Voice” depicts a young man shouting and holding his chest. He is surrounded by some people who are using their phone flashlight to illuminate him. This photo has been taken in the midst of protest during a blackout in Khartoum, Sudan, on 19 June 2019. At that time, the young man recited protest poetry, while the demonstrators around him clapped hands and shouted ‘thawra’, which means ‘revolution’ in Arabic.
The facial expression and dramatic light of this photo can transmit the spirit of the protesters. Quoted from the photographer, “His facial expression and voice impressed me, I couldn’t stop focusing on him and captured the moment.”
This protest is a continued protest from the first one in December 2018, in Atbara, Sudan. It was triggered by the tripling of the price of bread. In April 2019, protesters demanded Omar al-Bashir to end his 30-years rule. On 11 April, a military-operated coup had over-thrown Omar al-Bashir. On 3 June, the authorities attacked many protesters causing death and injury. When the photo was taken, the authorities gave pressure to the protests by imposing blackouts and shutting down the internet.
Yasuyoshi Chiba’s photo, “Straight Voice” can be seen as a manifestation of “government by journalism”. This term is coined by William T. Stead (1849-1912)–a British newspaper editor. Journalism is a ‘major generals’ that has the power to inspect all government departments. The aim of journalism is “to serve as public opinion pollster and interrogators of democracy”.
Other winners’ photos of 2020 World Press Photo contest can be accessed on https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photocontest/winners/2020
Yasuyoshi Chiba on his winning photograph
