News photographer is honored for auto project

The Detroit News

A Detroit News staff photographer has taken top honors in an Editor & Publisher contest for a multimedia project depicting the declining auto industry's impact on Ohio, officials announced this week.

Elizabeth Conley was named a winner in the trade publication's 2009 Photos of the Year competition, taking first place in the video/multimedia category for news organizations with circulations of 100,000 to 249,000.

She was one of about 25 honorees in six categories. This was the first year video/multimedia entries were judged.

"It's great to see this recognition for Elizabeth," said Detroit News Editor and Publisher Jonathan Wolman. "It's terrific work. She has been studying and practicing the advances in videography. She is a pioneer in the efforts to develop this storytelling."

Conley won for "In the Shadows of Industry," which focused on the struggle of Lordstown, Ohio, to retain its manufacturing base in what was once known as "Steel Valley." She spent months chronicling the lives of auto workers, students and others in the community to produce the piece while a fellow with the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio State University.

Conley, 36, at The News since 2003, said she was inspired by the closures of Big Three plants in Metro Detroit as well as the plight of "industrial towns in post-industrial times."

"Part of my fascination is that it is such a cornerstone we discard like something that's disposable, when it wasn't just a product but a livelihood," she said.