July 17, 2020
Beat of the Week
(Honorable Mention)
Stone free; AP scoops White House and the competition
leaned on decades of source development, strong preparation and hustle to make AP the first mainstream news organization with word of President Donald Trumpâs commutation of Roger Stoneâs prison sentence. Knowing that a pardon or commutation was likely at any moment, Colvin reacted quickly when Stoneâs friends started posting celebratory tweets. She reached Stone by phone and he walked her through the presidentâs call informing him of the commutation â while Colvin sent live quotes to APâs Washington desk. APâs alert moved ahead of the White House announcement, followed quickly by an 1,100-word story, first among mainstream outlets and the only one with same-day reaction from Stone. https://bit.ly/3eu561T