Best of the States

AP delivers total coverage of total eclipse, readers respond

By the time the moon began to block the sun for millions of Americans on August 21, Marcia Dunn, Seth Borenstein, Gillian Flaccus, Marshall Ritzel and many others across the AP had told the world just about everything there was to know about the event with a series of text stories, photos, videos and animations organized and coordinated by Stephanie Nano and Raghu Vadarevu. Stories included what scientists were hoping to learn, what ancient peoples thought of eclipses, how to protect your eyes, how eclipses work, how businesses were taking advantage of the big day, and more.

For leading the effort on a sparkling package that made full use of the AP’s national reach and expertise in all formats to explore a story of enormous national interest, this week’s $300 Best of the States prize is shared by Dunn, Borenstein, Flaccus and Ritzel.