for reporting that this yearâs devastating Midwest flood losses are forcing tough decisions about the future of farming in America's bottomlands, even among farmers skeptical of climate change and humansâ role in it. https://bit.ly/2Z6iBP9
In any year, coverage of the Daytona 500 is a major undertaking that presents challenges. NASCARâs biggest event stretches nearly two weeks and story planning begins a month in advance.
But this year the AP crew had to adjust on the fly as the story veered in multiple directions. First, President Donald Trump finalized a visit just 48 hours in advance. Then rain fell early in the race, eventually postponing the event until the following day. And finally, a lurid crash just short of the checkered flag resulted in a stunning finish followed by an agonizing wait for news on the condition of driver Ryan Newman.
The AP team never faltered, deftly handling everything Daytona threw at them with informed, precise reporting and outstanding images.
For constantly keeping the AP ahead during a wild weekend, writers Jenna Fryer, Dan Gelston and Mark Long, and photographers John Raoux and Chris OâMeara share this weekâs Best of the States award.
for telling the stories of people in minority groups who feel âotheredâ: separated from the majority and viewed with suspicion in America. Tapping into the current tension between the U.S. and Iran, the story focused on Iranian American activist Hoda Katebi. For many young Iranian Americans, this is a mobilizing moment: They are embracing their identity as part of an ethnic community and as part of a larger struggle for inclusion in the U.S., a sentiment shared by minorities interviewed for the piece.https://bit.ly/2SmK6Ckhttps://bit.ly/2Sn8TGc
for anchoring expansive and informative coverage of President Donald Trumpâs impeachment trial â just the third such trial in American history. Coverage of the trial in all formats showcased the APâs unmatched ability to meet the call of history with sharp storytelling, delivered with speed but hanging on substance. The APâs mainbar provided a definitive account of the trial for more than three weeks running. And as lawmakers weighed the ultimate judgment on a president, journalists in Washington carefully reported the arguments in real-time while churning out informative sidebars, fact-checks and explanatory guides. The final story alone, on the Senate vote to acquit Trump, appeared on more than 200 newspaper front pages across the country, and hundreds of websites. https://bit.ly/2UQ9EcK
âSo long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu,â sang the lead to APâs Jan. 31 story when, after years of divisiveness and debate, the United Kingdom finally withdrew from the European Union.
The sharp and pithy writing was a highlight of APâs unparalleled breadth of journalism, produced by a staff with the depth of talent, experience and knowledge in all formats that would dominate coverage of the historic withdrawal after nearly 50 years.
Video, text and photos staff were deployed to the U.K., including Scotland and Northern Ireland, and to Belgium, France, Gibraltar, Germany and beyond.
APâs multiformat package captured the emotion and news developments on all sides â from the final lead-up to Brexit to the ceremonies, celebrations and pro-EU vigils on the night itself. And it included exclusives, like the reunion of the two miners â one French, the other British â who shook hands when they broke through to connect the Channel Tunnel nearly 30 years go.
For standout efforts in a continent-wide team effort in which there are too many to name, Jeffrey Schaeffer, Susie Blann, Jill Lawless, Raf Casert, Danica Kirka, Virginia Mayo, Martin Cleaver and Nicolas Garriga share APâs Best of the Week honors.
On the campaign trail, presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar has often cited a case â a life sentence given to black teen for killing a young girl â as proof of her tough-on-crime bona fides as a former prosecutor.
Over the course of a year, Minnesota-based investigative reporter Robin McDowell examined the case against Myon Burrell, who was 16 when he was sentenced to life in prison for the 2002 death of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards.
McDowell found major irregularities, including inconsistent evidence and questionable police tactics. The resulting package had impact, forcing new scrutiny of the case and Klobucharâs handling of it.
For dogged reported that shed new light and focused attention on the case against a man who has long said he was wrongfully convicted, McDowell wins this weekâs Best of the States award.
for exclusive reporting and photo/video dominance around a massive pro-gun rally in Richmond, Virginia, including breaking the news that Gov. Ralph Northam temporarily banned all weapons on the Capital grounds and a story that four Democrats opposed legislation that would have sought to ban assault weapons in the state, effectively killing the measure. https://bit.ly/3aDMYlhhttps://bit.ly/37njd6lhttps://bit.ly/2sTFrhl
for reporting on a lavish wine cave fundraiser for Pete Buttigieg in Napa, California, that became a key issue during the Democratic debate on Dec. 19. His curiosity piqued after a source provided him with a copy of an invitation to an exclusive Buttigieg fundraiser, Slodysko picked up details that made it clear this wasnât just any fundraiser. The room included a chandelier with 1,500 Swarovski crystals, an onyx banquet table and $900 bottles of cabernet. The story spoke to the issue of rich donors wielding outsized political influence and dominated the weekâs presidential debate as fellow candidate Elizabeth Warren pressed Buttigieg about why he would need to hold a fundraiser in such a venue. By the end of the night, âwine caveâ had entered Americaâs political lexicon. https://bit.ly/379yVBr
for calling attention to the migrant health care crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border with a compelling, all-formats look at how volunteer doctors are stepping in to care for sick, vulnerable and traumatized asylum seekers from Central America. The team followed Dr. Psyche Calderon as she made rounds in Tijuana, part of a movement of health professionals and medical students from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border that is quietly battling to keep asylum seekers healthy and safe while their lives remain in flux.https://bit.ly/2SmiY6Vhttps://bit.ly/2SpxgUf
for using leaked emails and a recording she obtained from a closed-door meeting to detail how the national NAACP leader, Derrick Johnson, chastised women who went public with sexual harassment claims against a former North Carolina state chapter officer. https://bit.ly/39eCzf0
When two burning tree limbs crashed in flames on the exact spot where Marcio Sanchez had been standing just moments earlier, the shaken AP Los Angeles photographer called two colleagues to check that they both had his wifeâs phone number, figuring that âif something happened to me, they could tell her.â He then plunged back to work, capturing vivid images of the furious wildfires tearing across swaths of California.
That incident captured the commitment of AP journalists during a frenetic week documenting the wind-whipped wildfires and accompanying blackouts. Sanchez was joined in the riveting coverage by photographers Noah Berger and Greg Bull, reporters Janie Har and Don Thompson, and more than a dozen others on the ground and in AP bureaus.
The engrossing, all-formats coverage was among the most popular on AP all week.
For their extraordinary work during a hectic and dangerous week, Sanchez, Berger, Bull, Thompson and Har share APâs Best of the Week.
for a fascinating story from the far-north villages of Alaska reveals how climate change is affecting hand-built ice cellars dug deep into the permafrost, changing how people store whale and walrus meat. This unique story focused on a part of Alaska, and a Native population, that is traditionally under-covered. https://bit.ly/2rWwyTg
for reporting exclusively that the Boy Scouts of America was taking a surprising step: It was putting Philmont Scout Ranch â a pristine 150,000 acre camp in New Mexico, considered the crown jewel in the organizationâs network of camps â up as collateral as it deals with financial fallout over a wave of sex-abuse lawsuits. It was the latest in a series of scoops by Crary about the Boy Scouts and their financial troubles, including his recent break about the organization increasing membership fees by more than double. https://bit.ly/2qZsQbe
for the 10th installment of the âWhat Can Be Saved?â series, an in-depth package on the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The all-formats team went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to spend time with researchers working to protect two species: a rare butterfly that receives very little money from the U.S. government, and a woodpecker that gets much more, illustrating inconsistencies in the act. The team produced a visually rich package with stunning images of the creatures and scientists, a compelling minidocumentary that pushed total views or the AP series past 1 million and an interactive that allowed readers to explore which endangered species live in their neighborhoods.https://bit.ly/35PkiTmhttps://bit.ly/2Y3782j
AP staffers displayed remarkable professionalism and composure under extraordinary circumstances in their coverage of the Nov. 14 mass shooting at Saugus High School in a Los Angeles suburb.
LA photographer Marcio Sanchez found himself in a nearly unfathomable position: He was making news photos outside a high school where a gunman had opened fire while one of his sons was locked down inside. Later, when Sanchez was safely home with his 15-year-old son Noah, his longtime LA colleague, reporter Brian Melley, did a sensitive interview with the teenager about his experience during the shooting and lockdown.
Meanwhile, veteran breaking news staffer John Antczak in the LA bureau reported the shifting numbers of casualties with careful sourcing and attribution, anchoring the coverage and avoiding the false reports put out by some media.
APâs full complement of all-format coverage was the product of excellent reporting and editing by staffers in the field and in the bureau. That team effort was highlighted by the remarkable work of Sanchez, Antczak and Melley, who earn this weekâs Best of the States award.
for obtaining documents while attending the World Anti-Doping Agencyâs meetings in Poland that showed WADA and the IOC were spending large sums to lobby against U.S. legislation that would put criminal penalties in place for large-scale doping operations that affect American athletes. Many attendees at the WADA board meeting learned more from Pelsâ story than from the board itself, and the U.S. government representative cited the AP story in a speech chastising the WADA lobbying effort against the legislation.https://bit.ly/32L423Ohttps://bit.ly/2NMFOlq
members of APâs first misinformation beat team focusing on explaining falsehoods, propaganda and conspiracy theories while exposing the creators of this material and their techniques for dissemination. The team launched with two strong international stories â one exposing a propaganda campaign around the Turkish invasion into northern Syria, the other providing a deep look at how tech companies are grappling with the threat of online misinformation ahead of Decemberâs UK election.https://bit.ly/2QnszJAhttps://bit.ly/378Y3sY
Severe storms, extreme flooding and aging infrastructure present a rising peril throughout much of the U.S., but trying to assess the risks has been extremely difficult. The reason: The federal agency overseeing the nationâs dams has sealed off the most essential information about their condition and the potential threats to those living downstream.
Prying that information loose took the kind of dedicated, 50-state effort that the AP is uniquely positioned to pursue. Data journalist Michelle Minkoff and Northern New England correspondent Michael Casey, collaborating with state government team member David Lieb and a visual team led by video journalist Allen Breed â as well as a cast of AP state reporters, photographers and data journalists â produced a deeply reported and visually stunning package revealing the dangers of nearly 1,700 aging dams, from Hawaii to Massachusetts.
Some two years in the making, the package resulted in explosive play â more than 100,000 page views on AP News and more than 80 front pages.
For their exhaustive efforts to unlock critical public information and relay the findings in an engaging fashion, Minkoff, Casey, Lieb and Breed win this weekâs Best of the States award.
for a richly layered story about the difficulties facing residents and communities after the Northern California city of Paradise burned to the ground, killing 85 people, one year ago.https://bit.ly/2qVeFUahttps://bit.ly/2KnoqkVhttps://bit.ly/2QrhKWKhttps://bit.ly/33NuvyN
The death of the Islamic State group âcaliphâ Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was one of the most competitive stories in the world in recent weeks. Journalists scrambled to uncover details of the U.S. operation and how the Islamic State leader ended up in a hideout in Syria.
Beirut-based Middle East reporter Sarah El Deeb put the AP out front with a story based on exclusive interviews recounting al-Baghdadiâs final days, as he was shuttled furtively around Syria by a dwindling circle of confidants.
Enhancing the narrative were dramatic details from a teenage girl who had been enslaved by al-Baghdadi as he sought refuge. El Deeb elicited the previously untold details through sensitive and dogged reporting.
The story stood out from the many accounts that simply echoed the official account of al-Baghdadiâs death, demonstrating not only the APâs dominance on a global story but also its trusted ability to provide facts-based reporting from the ground in the region.
For outstanding source work and reporting on a story of intense interest, Sarah El Deeb wins APâs Best of the Week award.
