Visuals own a unique and Michael Schmidtpowerful place in modern journalism, having an outsized ability to engage our audience with impactful storytelling. The images captured this year by the photojournalists across the USA TODAY Network have the power to inspire, inform and delight. They capture moments in times of joy, pain and anguish; the political pomp, posturing and process in Washington; nature’s fury and beauty; and the unbridled athletic passions from local high schools to world championships.   

This collection is just a tiny sliver of the thousands of images that the visual journalists across The USA TODAY Network capture daily in their communities across the country.   

– Andrew P. Scott, director of photography and video, USA TODAY