Best of the States

AP travels to the edge of America for start of the 2020 census in tiny Alaska town

On the edge of America, the U.S. Census started in a tiny Alaska town on the Bering Sea. Toksook Bay, population 661, is only reachable by plane, and isn’t an easy place to live, much less report. The temperatures hover around zero, and daylight is scarce this time of year.

After months of planning, Alaska news editor Mark Thiessen and San Diego photographer Greg Bull spent four days in the remote community, getting rare access to day-to-day life and an interview with the person who would be the first counted, 90-year-old Lizzie Chimiugak. 

And when the Census director finally arrived, delayed by bad weather that kept many other news organizations away, Thiessen and Bull were able to quickly file the spot news that Census 2020 had begun.

For overcoming myriad technical obstacles and very cold fingers to cover the news in a far-flung part of the country, while also providing a window into a world unlike any other place in the U.S., Thiessen and Bull win this week’s Best of the States award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Ex-wildlife chief: Trump rule could kill billions of birds

conducted extensive research and reporting on the high stakes of a near-final Trump administration plan to scrap criminal enforcement of the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which former top wildlife officials fear will devastate American bird populations already in extreme decline. A former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warned that without criminal penalties billions of wild birds could be killed in coming decades. The piece, well-illustrated with staff and member photos, received wide play. https://bit.ly/3e3Tp2T

Best of the States

‘He's an inmate’: Anguish mounts over nursing home at center of virus

The Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, has emerged as the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. At least 35 coronavirus deaths have been linked to the facility, and more than half of those inside have tested positive, leaving the remaining residents in a sort of purgatory that has anguished their relatives.

Photographer Ted Warren has spent much of his time recently outside the long-term care center, documenting in heartrending photos how people have tried to communicate with mothers, fathers and loved ones through windows because visitors are no longer allowed inside. 

Warren found an ideal subject for conveying this desperation in the story of 86-year-old Chuck Sedlacek. With reporting by Gene Johnson, the pair delivered a package that detailed the isolation and anguish faced by the nursing home residents and their families – a feeling of helplessness many more are likely to experience as the disease spreads across the country.

For compelling work that conveys the frustration and despair of families coping with the coronavirus at a facility in the glare of the media spotlight, Warren and Johnson earn this week’s Best of the States award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP develops citizen journalists on virus-stricken ship

kept AP ahead of the competition throughout coverage of the first U.S. cruise ship to be struck by the coronavirus, repeatedly scoring exclusive photos and video from passengers stuck aboard the ship. After learning about the ship, Rodriguez began scouring social media looking for passengers and stayed in touch with them for several days, some of them becoming citizen reporters on the ship, sending regular updates, photos and video to AP.https://bit.ly/2TLsyADhttp://bit.ly/3aHzOCYhttp://bit.ly/39yMBYi

Best of the States

AP looks at race in Baltimore through the lens of ‘squeegee kids’

Reporter Regina Garcia Cano took what could have been a dense, pro forma story on complaints about Baltimore’s “squeegee kids” and turned it into a layered piece about inequality in post-Freddie Gray Baltimore. The timing was perfect, as a way for AP to mark the end of 2020’s Black History Month. 

She reviewed figures related to reports on the practice and found one squeegee kid in particular who was willing to open up about the daily grind of dashing into intersections to wash windshields, and how it helped him support his family. 

For her keen eye, and a deft hand, on a complicated topic that would have most likely gone overlooked, Garcia Cano wins this week’s Best of the States award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

US census raises the question: Who is Person 1?

for following up on weeks of groundbreaking coverage on the 2020 U.S. Census with an offbeat story that was hiding in plain sight: the fact that everyone will have to identify the head of the household when they fill out the form.Anyone else who lives in the home has to be identified by how they are related to so-called “Person 1” – which is sure to spark some intriguing conversations. https://bit.ly/2wbGXg8

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Documents reveal underuse of holding cells for asylum seekers

for first reporting unsealed documents that raised questions about the Trump administration’s reasoning for forcing asylum seekers to remain in Mexico. Spagat closely watched the court file and prodded an official once a deadline had passed, breaking the news that holding cells at most U.S. facilities were no more than half full – and some were completely empty – during an unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking families from Central America. The Trump administration claimed that people had to wait in Mexico because it didn’t have the means to accommodate them. https://bit.ly/39PkhAM

Best of the States

AP crew expertly covers a wild and constantly shifting Daytona 500

In any year, coverage of the Daytona 500 is a major undertaking that presents challenges. NASCAR’s 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 O’Meara share this week’s Best of the States award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP explores minority groups’ experience with being ‘othered’ in US

for telling the stories of people in minority groups who feel “othered”: 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

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Reporter stays with the story; father and son reunited

followed up on his previous reporting about migrant David Xol, who was deported back to Guatemala after being separated from his son by border agents in May 2018. Merchant’s relationship-building paid off with a heads up when Xol was one of nine parents who won the exceedingly rare chance to return to the U.S., reuniting him with his son, now 9. AP produced an all-formats package on the emotional airport reunion in Los Angeles.https://bit.ly/2RVbtC0https://bit.ly/2t8xJ2Rhttps://bit.ly/2S4AbQi

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP leads coverage of the 2020 US Census

for breaking news leading up to the 2020 U.S. headcount. Starting with a smart follow-up by Schneider showing that federal government’s attempts to get states to surrender driver’s license information have been a bust so far, and concluding with a weekend spotlight story by Seitz and Lerman showing how new concerns about misinformation and fraud could cause major problems for the Census Bureau.https://bit.ly/36mZDqShttps://bit.ly/2N0gbgI

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: Army Reserve unit mishandled sexual assault cases

for breaking the news that the Army Reserve was investigating whether leaders of the unit that controls thousands of soldiers across the western U.S. had mishandled at least two sexual assault allegations in-house, rather than referring them for outside investigation as required by military police and federal law.https://bit.ly/2TyDulg

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP analysis reveals record year for mass killings

for an authoritative story that quantified just how much bloodshed there was around the U.S. in 2019, harnessing the power of an AP collaboration and database access. The pair determined that there were more mass killings in 2019 than any year since at least the 1970s. They also did a data distribution that allowed newspapers to localize stories, and Pane tracked down a survivor of one of the killings to put a human face on the story. https://bit.ly/2Nd5M0F

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

All-formats look at volunteer doctors responding to border crisis

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

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

From Brazil to Boston, tracing a surge of Brazilian migrants

for tracing a little-noticed surge in Brazilians crossing into the U.S. Leveraging AP’s footprint from Brazil to Texas to Boston, the deeply reported story documented an astonishing number of Brazilians pouring through El Paso. Hundreds of them had ridden with a single cab driver who Attanasio found by canvassing taxi stands at border bridges, while in Boston, Marcelo found a recently-arrived mechanic, adding texture to the story. https://bit.ly/2PG3jh7

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP Analysis: 2020 census faces challenge in Detroit

for revealing that Detroit would be by far the toughest city to count, based on AP’s exclusive data analysis of the difficulties facing the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020. The team’s multiformat package explained why the city in transition poses such a formidable challenge. https://bit.ly/2EsNGmDhttps://bit.ly/2Z73k0D

Best of the States

AP Exclusive: Accidental shootings show nationwide gap in police training

A mother shot fatally shot in front of her 3-year-old son. A suspect killed while an officer tried to handcuff him. A Homeland Security agent was shot at a Texas high school by a U.S. marshal fumbling with equipment. These are among the more than 1,400 unintentional discharges found by Seattle reporter Martha Bellisle in an investigation that highlights the shortcomings of police weapons training.

No agency tracks how often local, state and federal officers accidentally fire their weapons. Over the course of more than a year, Bellisle exhaustively documented 1,422 unintentional discharges by 258 law enforcement agencies since 2012.

With contributions from colleagues in photo and video – including the story of an Iowa woman who was killed when an officer’s gun discharged, leaving her husband and children still scarred by the tragedy – the all-formats package received prominent play.

For an exclusive that sheds light on a virtually undocumented area of firearms safety, Bellisle earns this week’s Best of the States award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

North Dakota county could be first to vote against refugees

for reporting on a North Dakota county that appeared set to become the first in the U.S. to vote against taking any new refugees after President Donald Trump issued an executive order giving them the power to do so. https://bit.ly/2ExyG6Z

Best of the States

LA photographer’s son locked down in school shooting; team coverage stands out

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. 

AP’s 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 week’s Best of the States award.

Best of the States

AP Exclusive: Closing of coal plant on tribal land upends a community and a culture

Coal-burning generating plants are closing in the U.S., and coal mines are shutting down amid worries of climate change and the new economies of renewable energy.

Against that backdrop, correspondents Felicia Fonseca and Susan Montoya Bryan traveled to Arizona’s remote Navajo Generating Station to the tell the story of workers, their families, a community and the tribal nations who have depended on coal and are feeling the profound effects of the plant’s impending closure. 

In their all-formats package, the pair let workers explain what they were losing, and how the local economy is taking a massive hit with millions of dollars of revenue no longer flowing to the Hopi and Navajo tribes.  

For a comprehensive, compelling look at the impact of coal’s decline on a community and a culture, Fonseca and Montoya earn this week’s Best of the States award.