for breaking major news about an iconic all-male black college allowing transgender students for the first time. It was a notable shift for Atlantaâs Morehouse College and came as colleges around the country have been wrestling with LGBT questions. The scoop prompted local and national media to match the story. https://bit.ly/2Ur5vYP
took a deep look into a diversity issue in womenâs college basketball that has been mostly overlooked â of the 65 Power Five head coaches, only 13 are Black women.Walker, who is helping cover the tournament remotely, stepped away from the action on the court to highlight the low number of Black women in the top coaching jobs. She interviewed coaches and administrators to get answers as to why so few and what needs to happen for that to change. And she led off the story with a telling anecdote -- when Dawn Staley and Joni Taylor met up in the Southeastern Conference Championship, it was the first time in 41 years that teams led by Black women had faced off in a tournament championship. After the story was published, a Vanderbilt official summed up the responses to the article in a note to Teresa saying, âCrushed it!â https://bit.ly/3wfqMc3
When Ronald Greene died in 2019, Louisiana State Police troopers initially blamed the Black manâs death on injuries from a crash at the end of a high-speed chase, then later said Greene became unresponsive in a struggle with troopers and died on his way to the hospital.
For the most part, that was all the public would know about the case, until APâs Jim Mustian took up the story. Since he began reporting nine months ago, heâs broken a string of stories revealing there was more to the story. But Mustian always knew he needed to get his hands on one crucial piece of evidence: video.
This past week, Mustian did just that. In the most explosive break yet in the case, Mustian obtained body camera footage that showed Greene repeatedly apologizing and pleading for mercy as troopers jolted him with stun guns, put him in a choke hold, punched him and dragged him by his ankle shackles. The story led national newscasts and websites, and fronted newspapers across the country, with credit to APâs reporting and the video, again and again.
This scoop was the work of one dogged investigative reporter who never stopped believing that the world should know what really happened to Ronald Greene. For that we honor Jim Mustian with APâs Best of the Week award.
for the first installment of a multi-part mini-doc series marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution: âRevolution in Iran: History Begins Again,â leveraging the creative talent of our journalists to produce content intended to engage the audience and tap new markets. https://bit.ly/2Mug2Aa
landed an exclusive interview with civil rights figure Hazel Dukes on Rep. Shirley Chisholmâs 1972 run for the Democratic presidential nomination, a first for a Black woman. Dukes, who seconded Chisholmâs nomination, set the tone for Staffordâs multiformat piece, offering an exclusive window into how Chisholmâs legacy folded into the historic vice presidential nomination of Kamala Harris.The timing of the story and Staffordâs inclusion of other key, relevant voices helped set up APâs coverage of Harrisâ remarks to the Democratic convention and elevated the voices of Black women during the DNC. The piece was accompanied by âInspiring Women,â a video that Stafford narrated.https://bit.ly/2EwQTFlhttps://bit.ly/3hATPPC
for all-formats coverage on the issue of immigration with a unique package that explores the toll of deportations on âmixed-statusâ families. https://bit.ly/2ObVYD7
fittingly beat the competition with news of the biggest impact yet from their two-year investigation of beatings and cover-ups by the Louisiana State Police: The U.S. Justice Department is launching a sweeping civil rights probe of the agency to see if there is a pattern of excessive force and racial discrimination.Based on their deep sourcing, Mustian and Bleiberg were able to exclusively report the federal âpattern-or-practiceâ investigation as a news alert about an hour before the official announcement in Baton Rouge. It marked the first such action against a statewide law enforcement agency in more than two decades. All the examples cited by the assistant attorney general as justitification for the probe came from a string of AP scoops that exposed (often with video) beatings of mostly Black men and the Louisiana agencyâs instinct to protect troopers rather than investigate them.Read more
used their experience and a quick response to cover the weekâs fast-moving developments on an attack against Iranâs Natanz nuclear site, the second such assault amid tensions over its nuclear program. Iran initially blamed Israel for a cyberattack that caused a blackout and damage to underground centrifuges at the site, but later named an Iranian-born man as a suspect in the attack, saying he had fled the country âhours beforeâ the sabotage happened.The teamâs stellar coverage included six alerts, satellite images of the site and unmatched access to Iranâs nuclear spokesman, who was injured on a visit to the site after what he described as âa possible minor explosion.â APâs work drew impressive play throughout the week.https://bit.ly/3gw39GJhttps://bit.ly/3tU1E9nhttps://bit.ly/3n9gB4I
asked a series of smart, precise questions that helped draw out Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor, on her views of former President Donald Trump and whether she would seek the GOP nomination in 2024 if Trump runs again.Haley hasn't given many interviews recently, but during a visit to an historically black college, Columbia-based reporter Kinnard first asked whether Trumpâs recent criticism of Mitch McConnell and Mike Pence hurt the GOP. Haley answered with essentially positive remarks about Trump. Then, when asked if she would support him if he chose to run again in 2024, Haley said yes, and if Trump does run, she said sheâd forgo a run of her own. Haleyâs comments, elicited by Kinnard, made news and sparked significant conversation on social media. https://bit.ly/3dBkn3z
The AP team in London had been preparing its coverage of Prince Philipâs death for years to ensure when the moment came, everyone would be ready. That exceptional planning laid the foundation for lightning handling and a major win when Philip passed on Friday.
The preparation included multiple revisions of the main obituaries, filing plans for all formats and a strategy for how the newsroom and editorial support teams would communicate to customers. It all paid off on Friday when AP picked up rumors of Philipâs death. U.K. news director Susie Blann confirmed with her sources and immediately let the wider team know. When official word came via email from the palace, the all-formats coverage team of more than 25 individuals in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States was poised for action.
From the Flash alert two minutes after the email confirmation, AP was incredibly fast with the news: text, photos, live and edited video, all tailored to customers who depend on and expect this coverage when it matters.
For exceptional, nearly flawless performance across the AP on one of the biggest stories thus far this year, Susie Blann, Martin Cleaver, Bridget Jones, Anne Marie Belgrave, Samira Becirovic, Jill Lawless, Naomi Koppel, Danica Kirka, Sarah DiLorenzo and the international royal coverage team earn APâs Best of the Week honors.
produced a vignettes package that provided an unparalleled, inside look at a historic moment in Indian Country: the potential first Native American Cabinet secretary. In the days leading up to the Senate confirmation hearing for Deb Haaland, President Joe Bidenâs choice to lead the Interior Department, Fonseca, APâs correspondent based in Flagstaff, Arizona, captured what this nomination meant to Native Americans on a personal level. Interviewing people of different ages, genders and tribes across the U.S., she compiled their stories into a series of vignettes and took extra steps to arrange for each source to share a photo that represented their tale. The result was a richly layered, insightful package that brought a range of unique voices to the forefront and offered a window into an important moment in Native American history.https://bit.ly/3sPv7QJhttps://bit.ly/3e9Lvr9
worked sources on Staffordâs newly expanded beat to land an exclusive on the launch of a climate justice campaign.The effort by the group Donors of Color Network would shift millions in funding toward environmental and justice groups led by Black Americans, other people of color and Indigenous people and came on the heels of President Joe Biden pledging to make environmental justice central to the fight against climate change. Stafford, AP investigative race writer, brought the story to life by taking readers on a tour of neighborhoods in Detroitâs 48217 ZIP code, where residents live against the backdrop of heavy industrial sites that have long been a major concern in the nationâs largest Black-majority city. Baltimore-based photographer Julio Cortezâs photos of Donors of Color co-founder Ashindi Maxton, the storyâs lead character, rounded out the package. https://bit.ly/3d4zfaP
As AP race and ethnicity writer Aaron Morrison covered the protests that grew out of the 2020 killings of George Floyd and others, he also saw President Donald Trump on TV, trying to undermine the racial reckoning at every turn.
Fast forward to Jan. 6, when a mob of mostly white rioters, upset that Trump wasn't reelected, violently breached the U.S. Capitol. Morrison connected the dots of what he described as a war of white aggression. âA war rages on in America,â Morrison wrote in this analysis piece, âIt started with slavery and never ended ...â
With powerful video by Noreen Nasir, portraits by Chris Carlson and presentation by Alyssa Goodman, the package received prominent play and sparked discussion both online and within the AP.
For a timely, compelling package that looks at the state of race relations with historical context and thoughtful analysis, the team of Morrison, Nasir, Carlson and Goodman earns this weekâs Best of the States award.
collaborated on a piece that exposed racial disparities in the early rollout of the vaccine, with African Americans lagging behind the rest of the country in getting shots. The team was initially stymied by a lack of comprehensive national data and scattered figures from state to state and city to city. But they were able to piece together data from 17 states and two cities to make a powerful, data-driven statement on the issue.The story showed that Black Americans were getting shots at rates dramatically below their share of the population, a disturbing development considering how much of a role race has played in disproportionately affecting people of color in the pandemic. The analysis put the AP out front on a critical issue, two days before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out its own analysis of the issue. https://bit.ly/39OwuIQ
AP national writer Hillel Italie took a call Thursday evening from a longtime source with an unexpected tip: Groundbreaking actress Cicely Tyson, known for her roles playing strong, fiercely dignified Black women, was dead.
Italie set off to get the news on the wire quickly, while also alerting colleagues. That included entertainment writer Mark Kennedy who had met Tyson years earlier. Kennedy had decided that when the time came, the AP obituary would have to capture the breadth and achievement of her life and career. And he had prepared just that.
The AP story moved at least 15 minutes before other outlets, earning more than 265,000 page views and front page headlines.
Celebrity obituaries are intensely competitive; Italie and Kennedy kept AP well in front, through source work, commitment and solid preparation. For that, they win APâs Best of the Week award.
in Washington for the 59th Presidential Inauguration excelled in all-formats despite COVID restrictions and unprecedented security just two weeks after the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol. Video was a particular standout â hundreds of millions of viewers around the world received APâs live coverage, and video edits were ahead of the competition by an astonishing average of 15-20 minutes. Text and photo coverage was no less impressive, vividly capturing history in the making.https://bit.ly/2MzmTfwhttps://bit.ly/2Mdq0tVhttps://bit.ly/3otR5WGhttps://bit.ly/2KXbFkFhttps://bit.ly/3psgRMvhttps://bit.ly/39pm6qyhttps://apnews.com/hub/biden-inauguration
used journalistic savvy and resourcefulness to overcome both an internet ban and APâs competitors to deliver outstanding all-formats coverage of Ugandaâs Jan. 14 presidential election.Uganda had gone to great lengths to discourage international observation of the polls. Just getting into the country with all-important live broadcast equipment required driving into the country at a less-policed border point.And Uganda was widely expected to cut its internet on election day. When it did, reporter Muhumza was unfazed, having wisely filed comprehensive advance copy to colleagues outside the country. He updated with key quotes and details sent by text message.Despite the internet cut, the video team of Kasire and Mwihia noticed that international roaming data was still working. They promptly switched all the SIM cards in their LiveU unit, delivering an incredible four-hours of agency-exclusive live video showing polls opening and heightened security. Authorities eventually got wise and cut off roaming data too.Meanwhile, Delayâs decision to rent a vehicle with black-tinted windows also paid off, allowing him to move around the capital to make compelling photos of security forces without drawing unnecessary attention.Ultimately, the team used its local contacts and managed to negotiate their way into the heavily guarded state broadcaster, where they continued to discreetly file developments for days via state TVâs still operational fast internet â an enormous edge over our competitors who had to rely on much slower communications. The final triumph was to patch and broadcast, live and exclusive, a clean feed of President Museveni's national address on his win.https://bit.ly/39FxH3Chttps://bit.ly/2KEm8l0https://bit.ly/396i1Hy
âAnd I do not say this lightly: Holy shit.â That, from producer and Black List founder Franklin Leonard, sums up the collective reaction to the scoop by APâs Jay Reeves and Emily Wagster Pettus: Searchers in Mississippi had discovered the nearly 70-year-old unserved warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham, the white woman whose unproven accusation against Emmett Till led to the Black teenagerâs lynching, a horror that galvanized the civil rights movement.
Reeves had reported previously that relatives and activists were still seeking the long-lost warrant, and years of source work paid off with a tip: The document had been found in the basement of a Mississippi courthouse. He confirmed it and teamed up with Wagster Pettus, contacting law enforcement officials and legal experts on what the discovery means to the case, which had been considered closed.
The resulting story made waves, scoring heavy play with customers and on AP platforms.For breaking news on one of the countryâs most notorious civil rights cases, Reeves and Wagster Pettus share this weekâs Best of the Week â First Winner honors.
When Chicago police released the body camera video of an officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy in an alley, AP staffers in Chicago and across the AP sprang into action with aggressive reporting, sharp enterprise follow-ups and thoughtful standards discussions about how to responsibly portray the gruesome incident for photo and video clients.
The end result was three days of distinctive spot and enterprise coverage on a story that resonated with audiences around the world, especially with renewed focus on police violence in the midst of the Derek Chauvin murder trial.
For comprehensive coverage providing depth, detail and context on the shooting, the all-formats team of Michael Tarm, Don Babwin, Sara Burnett, Kat Stafford, Dave Bauder, Shafkat Anowar, Robert Bumsted and Derek Karikari shares this weekâs Best of the States award.
is an AP icon â she has had an unsurpassed view on the ground in Afghanistan for the past 35 years. So when an editor suggested she write a first-person piece reflecting on her decades of coverage, she stepped up with a vivid and intimate retrospective.The story, full of personal anecdotes, brings Afghanistan's recent history to light, tracking the countryâs slow descent into despair. The pacing is such that the piece reads like a narrative, leading with the 2014 shooting that seriously injured Gannon and killed a beloved colleague, then taking the reader effortlessly through the countryâs conflicts and shifting regimes. Like everything she writes, the piece focuses squarely on the people of Afghanistan, conveying Gannonâs respect for their kindness and resilience, even as hope fades.Read more
