for combining on a widely used package of creative stories around the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a testament to careful planning and storytelling. https://bit.ly/2InKIjdhttps://bit.ly/2HuCiHxhttps://bit.ly/2HjuBXf
for taking advantage of the new AP Secure Drop service where readers can leave tips and reporting that a city bus driver was still on the payroll one year after he had killed an 18-year-old Iowa State University student in a hit-and-run accident; the driver was fired after APâs inquiries.
http://bit.ly/2gCcqMg
Investigative reporter Jim Mustian told the exclusive story of a female informant raped twice in an undercover drug sting after her law enforcement handlers left her alone and unmonitored â a case that revealed the perils such informants can face while seeking to âwork offâ criminal charges in often secretive arrangements.
Mustian spent weeks interviewing sources and obtaining confidential documents after receiving a tip about the incident which took place in central Louisiana early last year. His reporting showed authoritiesâ apparent disregard for the safety of the informant, while experts told him that such drug stings are conducted countless times a day across the country, but they are notoriously unregulated.
Mustianâs story was among the most-read stories of the week on AP News and earned prominent play by AP members and customers.
For deep reporting that exposed a horrific case and took a hard look at a common police practice, Mustian earns APâs Best of the Week â First Winner honors.
produced a sweeping set of stories to mark the first anniversary of the massive Beirut port explosion, with the emphasis on character-driven pieces that underscore the suffering experienced by survivors of the blast and families of the victims, one year later. With that in mind, reporter Mroue, senior producer Abuelgasim and photographer Hussein told the tragic tale of a 21-year-old nurse who died at work, weaving her story together with that of a couple whose son was born minutes later in the same hospital amid the chaos of the blast. The result was a stunning all-formats narrative embedded with dramatic family video and hospital-supplied footage from the day of the blast. The Beirut crew worked closely with digital storytelling producers and editors Raghuram Vadarevu and Natalie Castañeda. APâs online video, created by deputy regional news director Balint Szlanko, was heavily used and widely shared on social media.Meanwhile, El Deeb reported â with photos by Ammar â on grieving families seeking justice and accountability for their deceased loved ones; she also collaborated with news director Karam on the anniversary mainbar which was accompanied by compelling photos and video by Abuelgasim and cameraman Tawil. El Deeb and Abuelgasim also teamed up with photographer Malla for a piece on conservators painstakingly rebuilding and restoring a landmark Beirut museum.In the days surrounding the actual anniversary, the staff shifted its coverage to breaking news as masses of protesters took to the streets, some clashing with police as they demanded that officials be held responsible for corruption and indifference leading to the tragedy.https://aplink.news/u59https://aplink.news/b1dhttps://aplink.news/dmjhttps://aplink.news/alyhttps://aplink.video/z0j
gave AP a six-hour beat on all competitors with a report that the Dalai Lama would release his first-ever album; the story was picked up by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Billboard and other publications. The album, featuring teachings and mantras by the Dalai Lama set to music, is to be released July 6 on the religious leaderâs 85th birthday. Fekaduâs story included the first interview with the musician who proposed the project to the Dalai Lama. https://bit.ly/3egDMVw
After a heads-up tip to Justice Department reporter Michael Balsamo, what unfolded on that Friday night was strange: The top Manhattan federal prosecutor â the one investigating President Donald Trumpâs allies â was said to be resigning his job.
The AP was out with the story for at least a half hour before the competition. But that was just the beginning, as U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman reported for work the next day, only to step down amid conflicting statements from the White House and Justice Department. Balsamo and Neumeister were out front again, making sense of the shifting story with well-sourced detail and context.
For work that put the AP way ahead with both the breaking news and the meaning of the maneuvering, Balsamo and Neumeister share this weekâs Best of the States honors.
for using records requests to reveal that Ohio had been loading up on supplies of an execution drug that is at the center of a federal lawsuit. His story came just as arguments in the case were being heard. http://apne.ws/2iDbcVk
unraveled some messy decisions by Dr. Deborah Birx, head of the White House coronavirus task force, that appeared to contradict the governmentâs own COVID-19 safety guidelines.When it was first reported that Birx was angling for some kind of role on the Biden administrationâs COVID-19 response team, one of her relatives reached out to Madhani and suggested he look into Birx, who spent Thanksgiving weekend at a Delaware beach house with extended family, and who also made many visits to a multigenerational family home in Maryland between her widespread travels to coronavirus hotspots for the government.Madhani and Slodysko contrasted Birxâs activity with her warnings to Americans to âbe vigilantâ and limit celebrations to âyour immediate household,â and with CDC guidelines to avoid travel for the holidays. The two Washington reporters also discovered that while Birx was in Delaware, she conducted an interview with CBSâ âFace the Nationâ in which she noted some Americans âwent across the country or even into the next stateâ for the holiday weekend. Birx declined to be interviewed for the story but provided a statement acknowledging she went to her Delaware property, insisting she was there to winterize the property.The story received strong play and reader engagement, and continued to generate discussion on cable TV well beyond its weekend release.Birx has a since said she plans to retire, but is willing to first help President-elect Joe Bidenâs team with its coronavirus response as needed.https://bit.ly/38sWmb7https://politi.co/2WFxDeh
Among the many questions raised by President Donald Trumpâs surprise executive order targeting predominantly Muslim nations was how his administration arrived at the seven âcountries of particular concern.â Take Libya, for example. By making the list, one might think the country was sending waves of refugees pouring into the U.S. Not so, according to data analyzed and packaged on deadline for AP customers by data journalist Meghan Hoyer.
Hoyerâs analysis of federal data in the chaotic days that followed the Trump administration order provided tremendous value for AP customers across the country, allowing them to localize a story of international significance. Hoyer wins this weekâs $300 Best of the States award.
for an exclusive story on the theft of opioids and other drugs from VA facilities. http://bit.ly/2lw8TRs
Las Vegas-based photographer John Locher has seen no shortage of drought in his years covering the Southwest desert. But this year felt different, particularly when it came to Lake Mead, a popular tourist destination and important source of water, where levels have plummeted.
Over the course of several weeks, he made repeat visits to the lake, talking to people on beached boats, exploring different areas and running down visual leads he found on social media.
Little by little, a theme began to emerge: The receding body of water had effectively exposed a graveyard, not just of sunken boats, but also of wildlife. Locher captured this in a unique visual essay used widely and prominently by AP members and customers across the country.
For persistence, creativity and shoe-leather reporting to reveal in striking images the precipitous decline of Lake Mead, Locher earns APâs Best of the Week â First Winner.
capped APâs spotless coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin with an exclusive the morning after the contest as the winning band, Ukraineâs Kalush Orchestra, bid a tearful goodbye to Italy, returning to Ukraine to fight for their homeland.With contributions by reporters in Ukraine, the AP team delivered outstanding Eurovision coverage from Day One, but it was the exclusive day-after coverage that truly set AP apart from the competition, capturing images of the emotional scene outside the bandâs hotel, the band members saying goodbyes to loved ones staying in Italy as the men return to war-ravaged Ukraine.Read more
As the western U.S. finds itself in the grips of one of the worst droughts in recent history, the AP West region staff has delved into every aspect of the droughtâs impact across the region. In one of the hardest-hit areas, the Salt Lake City-based team of Rick Bowmer, Lindsay Whitehurst and Brady McCombs documented that Utahâs Great Salt Lake may be headed to the lowest water levels in 170 years.
Reporting ahead of other news outlets, they delivered an all-formats package with stunning visuals showing readers how the dying lake is impacting people and wildlife and is a harbinger of worrisome drought-related consequences ahead. Decades of drought and water diversion in the booming region have hurt bird habitats, forced boats from shallow water and exposed dry lakebed that could send arsenic-laced dust into the air that millions breathe.
The result was a compelling package that had the highest engagement of all AP stories on July 6 and fourth-most for the week.
For distinctive work that expands APâs ongoing coverage of climate and drought in the West, the team of Bowmer, Whitehurst and McCombs wins this weekâs Best of the States award.
As parents scramble to manage their own work and their kidsâ remote learning during the pandemic, AP business reporters Alexandra Olson and Cathy Bussewitz wanted to know how that shift impacted the careers of mothers and fathers.
They dug into the data, finding that in order to tend to their children, working mothers were giving up their careers more so than working fathers. And they tapped into parenting networks to find families in this situation. What emerged was evidence of a trend that threatens decades of hard-fought gains by working women, who are still far from achieving labor force parity with men.
For timely reporting that documents a disturbing social and economic trend brought on by the pandemic, Olson and Bussewitz win this weekâs Best of the States award.
AP photographers often scramble to the scene of a news story before itâs clear what is happening.
That was the case on a beautiful Halloween afternoon last week when a call came in to the New York City bureau that there was a swarm of police activity near the APâs lower Manhattan headquarters. News Editor David Caruso ran to the windows and saw an unbroken string of police cars speeding south on the West Side Highway, going down the wrong side of the street. That was enough for him to scramble reporters, photographers and videographers out the door.
At the scene, AP photographer Bebeto Matthews slipped behind police lines and started walking up the street near the west side bike path. He noticed something white on the path and soon realized it was a body covered in a sheet, surrounded by crumpled bicycles and other debris. He began furiously taking pictures, called in what he saw to the desk and then ducked behind some construction equipment to start transmitting his photos on the spot.
Meanwhile, AP photographer Mark Lennihan and stringer photographers Craig Ruttle and Andres Kudacki had also rushed to the scene, making dramatic photos of what would become the worst terrorist attack in New York City since 9/11.
For strong breaking news work that put AP ahead and kept us there, Matthews, Lennihan, Ruttle and Kudacki win this weeksâ Best of the States Award.
used determination and empathy to gain access to the world of Afghanistanâs hard-drug street addicts. The result is an unflinching but sensitive photo package that takes readers inside the addictsâ bleak lives. His images, raw, yet layered and nuanced â are at once intimate and riveting.Noroozi spent hours at locations in Kabul where the addicts gather â on a hillside and under a bridge. The addicts gradually accepted his presence and he was able to follow the grueling flow of their daily lives, apparent in his images. He also photographed am government raid, the Taliban allowing him access to their drug rehabilitation center where he wound up making striking images on multiple trips.Complementing the haunting photos, Norooziâs personal notes of his visits were so compelling they were fashioned into a first-person account, drawing readers directly into the experience.Read more
for putting AP ahead in its coverage of the drama in Zimbabwe by gaining crucial pictures of Robert Mugabe long before the competition. http://nyti.ms/2BooWs7http://bit.ly/2isN8Wk
for breaking the news that the government would allow mining, drilling, grazing and recreation on lands around Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah that had been off limits. President Donald Trump downsized the protected area two years ago.
Impressed by APâs fairness in coverage of the ongoing debate about managing public lands in the West, the Bureau of Land Management reached out to McCombs to share embargoed materials and the first interview by the regionâs acting director ahead of the planâs release. The APNewsBreak revealed that not only would the formerly protected lands be made available to a wide variety of uses but that those activities could have an adverse effect on the monument that is home to dramatic formations and vistas and is prime territory for paleontologists. https://bit.ly/2UafUcE
collaborated on the most comprehensive coverage yet by a major news organization on a shrinking natural wonder, the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwest Utah near the Nevada border.The salt flats has long lured speed-obsessed racers and filmmakers, and, more recently, social media fans looking for a spectacular photo, but its future is in peril because the salt has been thinning for decades. When a Utah state agency launched yet another study to assess what was happening at the salt flats, APâs Salt Lake City bureau recognized an opportunity explore the state of one the American Westâs most unique sites.A thoroughly reported, reader-friendly story and impressive visuals â photos, drone images, video and digital animations â combined for a striking presentation that drew in readers.Read more
Thereâs a real difference between straight aerial photography and the birdâs-eye view that APâs audience had of the destruction after a series of tornados touched down in western Ohio late on Memorial Day. Using a drone, Cincinnati photographer John Minchillo and video journalist Angie Wang provided those images from a rare perspective â both still photos and video â showing residents coping with the wreckage and sorting through their gutted homes.
The resulting video coverage was our overall top U.S. video story for the week, and Minchilloâs still photos were widely played, including front pages of the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Two of his photos appeared in NBCâs The Week in Pictures.
From small details to sweeping landscapes of destruction, their dedication, teamwork and speed of delivery make John Minchillo and Angie Wang this weekâs Best of the States winners.
