for breaking the news that Nicki Minaj was pulling out of a performance in Saudi Arabia after several human rights organizations asked the rapper to cancel the show. https://bit.ly/2LbO7ak
for breaking news, along with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, on one of the most important human rights issues of our time: Secret documents showed, in the Chinese governmentâs own words, that detention camps for more than a million Muslims are not for âvoluntary job trainingâ but rather for forced ideological and behavioral re-education.https://bit.ly/2pShDJ3https://bit.ly/2r4siRo
for an all-formats look at the legacy of the Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island 50 years later, including an interview with filmmaker Peter Bratt who was 7 years old when he accompanied his mother to the former prison. The 19-month occupation is widely seen as a pivotal event that prompted tribes to organize and advocate for indigenous rights. https://bit.ly/35FaJX4https://bit.ly/2OYkKrr
for a multiplatform breaking news package when former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick held a workout for fans. Kaepernick had been scheduled for an NFL-arranged workout at the Atlanta Falcons training facility, but the quarterback switched signals at the last minute, working out at a high school 60 miles away. https://bit.ly/2r9x9AC
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 building on their previous reporting about the Brothers Home, where some of the worst human rights atrocities in modern South Korean history had taken place. Kim and Klug have now revealed that the notorious facility was part of an orphanage pipeline feeding the demand of private adoption agencies. A former U.S. diplomat specializing in the Koreas said the story shows âThe AP continues to be second to none in South Korea-based investigative reporting.â https://bit.ly/2KkAe7C
for revealing that a Connecticut police officer wasnât disciplined by the townâs police chief for being a member of the Proud Boys, a right-wing group known for violent clashes at political rallies. The officerâs previous membership in the group didnât violate department policies, East Hamptonâs police chief concluded in response to a civil rights groupâs concerns. https://bit.ly/2MHsXAr
for team photo coverage in Beijing and Hong Kong, with photo editing and curation on international photo desks, showing the contrast between Beijingâs celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Peopleâs Republic founding, and the escalated violence of Hong Kongâs pro-democracy protests on the same day.https://bit.ly/35kqLWGhttps://bit.ly/35jtEqJ
In western Alaska, rape survivors and their supporters say Nomeâs police department has often failed to investigate sexual assaults, especially when the victims are Alaska Native women.
Delivering sensitive-but-powerful coverage from a challenging environment, enterprise photographer Maye-E Wong and freelance correspondent Victoria Mckenzie tell the story of average Americans struggling with sexual violence and law enforcement in small communities. Their work made clear that Nomeâs struggles donât represent an isolated case; it is a microcosm of how police and towns and cities across the U.S. have failed survivors of sexual assaults.
For going to extremes â literally and figuratively â to shed light on a remote corner of the larger issue of sexual violence and enforcement, Wong and Mckenzie share this weekâs Best of the States award.
While conducting research for another potential project, Jesse J. Holland, race and ethnicity reporter based in Washington, read about the upcoming anniversary of the âRed Summerâ of 1919 and noticed a startling fact: Few people seemed to know that more than 200 African Americans died at the hands of white rioters across the country 100 years ago. The stream of violence that stretched from February to October that year, most of it in the U.S. South and Northeast, eluded history books and was largely forgotten.
Holland presented the information to the larger team, and the project took flight. The all-formats series ultimately included work by staffers Cedar Attanasio, El Paso, Texas; Russell Contreras, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Noreen Nasir, Chicago; and Rodrique Ngowi, Boston. AP was largely alone in its coverage and the teamâs efforts were rewarded with prominent use by national outlets and strong engagement.
For taking a little-known event and turning it into a dynamic project with powerful historic and present-day context that no other news outlet could match, Attanasio, Contreras, Holland, Nasir and Ngowi win this weekâs Best of the States award.
Within hours of their high school friend being accused publicly of sexual assault against a young woman 36 years ago, 65 women stepped forward to sign a letter supporting Brett Kavanaugh, whose nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was now at risk.
Many in newsrooms asked themselves, how was it possible that 65 people could be marshalled so quickly to attest to someoneâs moral character, including people who may not have seen Kavanaugh in decades. Reporters in four states, Jennifer Peltz in New York, Michael Kunzelman in Baltimore, Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston and Dan Sewell in Ohio, set out to reach every single one.
They learned that the campaign had started with phone calls among several high-school friends of Kavanaugh, and organizers used social media to expand their search.
The story, demonstrating AP's ability to marshal staffers across state lines on a tight timeline, was the top non-spot story of the week.
For their efforts, Shafner, Peltz, Kunzelman, Richer and Sewell share this week's Best of the States award.
for a monthâs worth of thoughtful all-formats coverage marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and what was believed to be the largest LGBTQ celebration in history, culminating in a Pride parade that lasted 12 1/2 hours. https://www.apnews.com/Stonewallat50
When New York photo editor Pablo Salinas alerted colleagues to the image of a drowned father and daughter from El Salvador lying face-down in the Rio Grande after they tried to cross into Texas, it was clear it captured, like few other images, the dangers faced by migrants and asylum-seekers trying to make it to the United States.
APâs much-applauded decision to acquire and publish that image by freelance reporter Julia Le Duc, showing the stark and often-hidden reality of migrants dying by the hundreds each year along the U.S. border, showcased APâs significant role in shaping the news agenda.
It also stands as a lesson for AP staff with several important takeaways, highlighting the role of editors to find, gather and acquire important images for APâs global audience, the role of APâs Top Stories Hub to coordinate and amplify news stories, and the value of rapid response by journalists in the region to verify, report and provide context for any news-making picture.
Finally, it showed how the thoughtful implementation of APâs standards across all platforms and social media can allow AP to stand out.
For an exceptional multinational effort in finding, recognizing and acquiring Le Ducâs tragic and important image, and presenting it to APâs worldwide audience with context and sensitivity, the team of Pablo Salinas, Marcos AlemĂĄn, Eduardo Verdugo, Rebecca Blackwell, Chris Sherman, Gerardo Carrillo and Peter Orsi shares APâs Best of the Week award.
âDonât dismiss a [story] idea just because itâs unfamiliar. Pelvic exams arenât exactly in the wheelhouse of the State Government Team, but it turned out to be a really terrific and distinctive topic.â
Thatâs one editorâs takeaway from a story by Providence, Rhode Island, reporter Jennifer McDermott and Seattle medical writer Carla Johnson, both of whom, acting on a heads-up from New York photo editor Jenny Kane, found that itâs common practice for medical students to perform a pelvic exam on women under anesthesia as part of their training. Whether the patients have given consent for that exam is not clear, drawing the interest of state lawmakers.
The pair faced multiple obstacles in reporting the story, including initial reluctance by doctors and harried legislators to discuss the issue, but McDermott and Johnson succeeded in defining the conflict between medical schools and elected officials seeking to protect patient rights. Their efforts resulted in a unique story that received heavy play among major AP customers, both online and in print.
For their teamwork, execution and sensitive handling of a complex topic, McDermott, Johnson and Kane win APâs Best of the Week award.
for obtaining exclusive details and interviews in seeking to hold police accountable for the death of a man caught growing 10 pot plans on public land. The man was run over by a bulldozer commandeered by state police as they searched thick brush for him, a slow-speed âchaseâ described by an expert on police procedure as âoutlandish.â Rubinkam learned that police had privately apologized to the family for the incident, and he had first word of a federal civil rights lawsuit against state police and others. https://bit.ly/2FBXj3G
In this weekâs installment of Best of the Week, Pennsylvania correspondent Mike Rubinkam shows us how to translate a local story for a global audience, give it scope and reach, and in the process build a following for ongoing coverage.
Rubinkam, who covers northeastern Pennsylvania, was watching his local 6 p.m. newscast when a story caught his eye: A beloved, longtime Walmart greeter with cerebral palsy had been told that his position was being eliminated in favor of a new âcustomer hostâ position.
His interest piqued, the next morning Rubinkam interviewed the man, Adam Catlin, for his first story. That got a lot of attention on social media, but it was only the start.
Rubinkam followed up with three more stories, updating the public about Catlinâs talks with Walmart and interviewing greeters across the country. He also obtained photos of several greeters in their Walmart vests.
With each update, the storyâs reach grew, with hundreds of online uses by AP customers and significant engagement on social media. And Walmart was listening. After a week of Rubinkamâs coverage, the mega-retailer announced it would make every effort to keep greeters with disabilities.
The story was a classic example of the impact that the APâs footprint can have, bringing attention to an issue that surfaced locally but had not yet received national attention. The outcome was a change in corporate policy at one of the worldâs biggest companies.
Because of his smart, dogged and curious reporting, and for capitalizing on the APâs global reach, Rubinkam earns APâs Best of the Week award.
for being first to report, through persistent reporting and eyewitness visits, that Iraq is closing camps for the displaced and sending hundreds of families to remote, heavily guarded and barbed-wire-ringed outposts that they effectively cannot leave. The story was widely shared on social media and cited by human rights organizations and included rare video from inside the camps as well as photos by Issa.https://bit.ly/2RVpIIZhttps://bit.ly/2MhvcZm
Getting a source to give AP a major scoop over competitors can take weeks or months of building credibility and trust. Sometimes that payoff takes years â as Austin, Texas, newsman Paul Weber discovered while breaking the news that former Obama Cabinet member Julian Castro was becoming the first Democrat in the 2020 field to launch an exploratory committee for president.
Weberâs relationship with Castro goes back nearly a decade. Weber moved to APâs San Antonio bureau in 2009, covering the 34-year-old mayor as a national political figure, including regular source meetings and face time with his family.
When Castro returned to Texas after two years as the nationâs housing secretary, Weber ran into him, stumping for other Democrats on the 2018 campaign trail. Months later Weber received a call from the number he had plugged into his phone eight years earlier: It was Castro calling to say he was âlikelyâ to run for president.
The APNewsBreak immediately trended as a top story on social media and put AP hours ahead of major competitors, including The New York Times, which cited AP and quoted from Weberâs exclusive all-formats interview.
For exceptional source development and for negotiating an AP exclusive, Weber wins this weekâs Best of the States.
Just before midnight on the day after California staffers were up late covering the midterm election came reports of a shooting at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Over the next 12 hours, as the scale of the carnage emerged, Sacramento correspondent Kathleen Ronayne, Washington-based reporters Mike Balsamo and Tami Abdollah, and photographer Mark Terrill and video journalist Krysta Fauria, both based in Los Angeles, combined to provide exclusive all-formats content for AP customers.
Despite the hour, Fauria and Terrill were on the scene within 90 minutes of the first reports coming in. Terrill made tight shots of the scene that no one else could match â his photos were used heavily by numerous outlets. Meanwhile, Fauria quickly set up a live shot, the first of four she would do over 12 hours at three locations. She also got APâs first interview from a survivor.
Reporter Ronayne, bleary-eyed from the long election night, provided the first live video of authorities searching the shooter's home, while Balsamo used a source to break the widely played news that the murder weapon was a handgun, not an assault weapon.
As other news organizations pulled photos of the gunman from social media, Balsamoâs Washington colleague â and fellow AP-Los Angeles alumnus â Tami Abdollah used a source to obtain a driverâs license photo that is believed to be the first and still perhaps the only rights-cleared image of the gunman.
For providing news, photos and video that others couldnât, Ronayne, Terrill, Balsamo, Abdollah and Fauria win this weekâs Best of the States award.
for their exclusive all-formats interview with one of Matthew Shepard's killers, the first time he's spoken to the media in 14 years, for a story that examined how society has changed 20 years after Shepard's death turned him into a symbol for gay rights. https://bit.ly/2RWFHDR