Neda video wins Polk Award

Only time will tell if the graphic video showing the killing of bystander Neda Agha-Soltan on the streets of Tehran will change history as much as it seemed last June, when the clip was posted on YouTube with a plea: "Please let the world know." The keepers of the prestigious-within-journalism Polk Award have taken notice, calling the anonymous, raw footage "an iconic image of the Iranian resistance" and the award a recognition that "in today's world, a brave bystander with a cell phone camera can use video-sharing and social networking sites to deliver news."

Here's the raw video, just 40 seconds. The YouTube warning and log-on requirement may not come through on your browser, so just realize this is the real thing.

For a somewhat diluted version with CNN narration that does not require a YouTube account, go here.

Aftermath: Los Angeles Times reporters Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim were on the front page Sunday with a powerful piece on the torture and imprisonment of accused protesters after Neda's death last summer. Daraghi also had the best story I saw on Neda last year, reconstructing quickly who she was:

To those who knew and loved Neda, she was far more than an icon. She was a daughter, sister and friend, a music and travel lover, a beautiful young woman in the prime of her life.

Daragahi also pieced together what happened: stuck in traffic with friends during one of the election demonstrations that roiled Tehran last summer, they got out of the car to "get some air and crane their necks over the jumble of cars." One shot fired in the distance, and she went down.

Photo from Wikipedia