Best of the Week — First Winner

Deeply reported package explores the shift away from fossil fuels, impact on states, communities

AP reporting on energy policies in all 50 states led to an unexpected discovery: Roughly two-thirds of states in the U.S. plan to use nuclear power as an essential part of their plan to replace fossil fuels.

That resurgence in nuclear energy, despite its downsides, launched AP coverage of the latest nuclear technology and the impact on local communities, particularly those dependent on coal: a small Wyoming town replacing its coal plant with a nontraditional nuclear reactor by a Bill Gates-founded company, and a town in Colorado where coal is being phased out after generations, with no plans to replace it. “We can’t recover from that,” a former mayor told the AP.

The all-formats work showed the nation’s struggles as it shifts energy sources to stave off the worst effects of climate change. And showcasing the AP’s 50-state footprint, a localization guide enabled AP’s customers to bring the debate home for their own audiences. The package played widely at home and abroad, from local papers to national news outlets.

For superior coverage bringing to light developments in energy policy across the country and the effects on people at a local level, the team ofJennifer McDermott, Brady McCombs, Mead Gruver, Patty Nieberg, Rick Bowmer, Elaine Thompson, Manuel Valdes and Natalie Behring is AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Exclusive AP access to US flight over militarized Chinese islands

were the only journalists invited aboard a U.S. Navy reconnaissance flight over the South China Sea and China’s island outposts in the region. While Favila made photos and video of the Chinese military facilities built on man-made islands — and recorded audio of the warnings the aircraft received from China — Gomez landed an exclusive interview with Adm. John C. Aquilino U.S. Indo-Pacific commander.With the war in Ukraine raising concern over other potential international conflicts, Aquilino told AP that China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea and has armed them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets. He said the increasingly aggressive moves threaten all nations operating nearby. Read more

Best of the Week — First Winner

As the world watches Ukraine, AP is the world’s eyes on besieged Mariupol

With the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol under siege by Russian forces, two courageous AP journalists, Germany-based video journalist Mstyslav Chernov and Kyiv photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, have been out in the streets, day in and day out, virtually alone in chronicling the city’s fall into chaos, despair and utter isolation, and the suffering of the civilian population.

Driving a van with windows blown out by explosions and filing their video and photos when they can establish communications, the pair has been the world’s only eyes on a key city that is suffering at the hands of the Russian offensive. Their images and words have riveted the world’s attention.

For harrowing reporting from a besieged city that would go unseen without their unflinching courage, we are honored to award the pair AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP journalists deliver global coverage of dire UN climate report

definitively examined, from six continents and in all formats, the impact of climate change, merging the science behind a major — and sobering — United Nations report with the voices of people who are living it.Weeks before the Feb. 28 release, climate news director Peter Prengaman, reporters Seth Borenstein and Frank Jordans, both veterans of climate coverage, and Stockholm-based video journalist David Keyton brainstormed the plan, putting AP’s global footprint to use: Instead of just one big, all-formats story — the norm for previous reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — AP would use the report as a jumping-off point to explore the state of climate change from each continent. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Unmatched AP reporting on unclaimed Biden COVID tests

was the first to report that although the Biden administration’s plan to distribute free COVID tests to American households was announced with great fanfare, less than half of the available test kits had been delivered. His story, based on interviews with the White House, showed how the plan to mail out 500 million free COVID tests had met with lackluster demand as virus cases plummeted. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

All-formats sweep as AP breaks news of Supreme Court nominee

beat all the competition, breaking the news of President Joe Biden’s nominee for the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy. AP flooded the media space with content on every platform, delivering a comprehensive package that told customers and readers everything they need to know about federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, what comes next and who bears watching in the process.The initial scoop came from smart source work, and the impressive range of content that quickly followed was made possible by advance coordination across formats and departments — AP was poised with thorough preparation on each of the front-runners for the nomination. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP figure skating crew leads breaking news from Olympics

dominated coverage of figure skating from Beijing, reporting the top breaking news stories of the 2022 Olympics. With help from colleagues working in all formats, along with the Moscow staff and fellow staffers promoting AP’s content on social media, they covered all the angles with some of the biggest stories of the Winter Olympics, including AP’s most-read story of the month.Even before the pivotal night of the women’s competition, Skretta and the team delivered standout work, setting up the Games and the expected dominance of both the Russian women and American favorite Nathan Chen. And when a positive drug test was revealed for Russian favorite Kamila Valieva, the team kept AP well ahead of the competition.Among the highlights were Ellingworth’s definitive piece on Valieva's controversial coach, a follow-up the morning after the eventful women’s final, and fresh takes on the sport from Ho and Morrison, highlighting issues of body image, racism and the impact of the sport on such young skaters. Read more

Best of the Week — First Winner

Source work, reporting, exclusive data modeling put AP ahead on omicron immunity

For two years, as COVID-19 ravaged the world, AP health and science reporter Carla Johnson stayed in constant contact with disease modelers who were using careful analysis to predict what the coronavirus would do next.

This time her subject was the omicron wave — millions were infected and millions more had immunity through vaccination and/or past infection. Johnson knew those numbers might answer one of the most vexing questions of the pandemic: How much immunity had Americans developed from omicron?

Johnson leaned on her sources and asked one influential analyst to produce projections for the AP. The result was a key finding that gave the country the earliest and clearest sense yet of how the U.S. is navigating the pandemic: 73% of the country is believed to be protected from omicron.

Her deeply reported but straightforward story, explaining why future waves may be far less disruptive in the U.S., played widely with credit to AP’s exclusive reporting.

For recognizing that the data might hold answers on COVID immunity, and resourceful source work that delivered a unique projection of future infection, Johnson is AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Best of the Week — First Winner

Determined reporting, solid sourcing and regional expertise put AP ahead on Ukraine coverage

AP journalists Matt Lee and Vladimir Isachenkov, along with colleagues covering the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis, delivered on AP’s promise — fast, accurate, contextualized reporting on one of the world’s most complex stories.

Diplomatic writer Lee and fellow Washington staffers worked sources late into a Friday evening to score a lengthy beat over the competition, breaking the news that the U.S. was evacuating most of its embassy personnel from Ukraine. Other news organizations needed hours to catch up to the story. Moscow-based Isachenkov, drawing on his deep knowledge of the region, has not only been the lead writer for on-the-ground spot developments, but has contributed a wealth of stories explaining the nuances, strategies and background behind the breaking news.

The work of Lee and Isachenkov capped a streak of remarkable all-formats coverage by AP teams in Ukraine, including standout visuals.

For well-sourced, steadfast reporting that has consistently kept the AP ahead on the Ukraine crisis, Lee and Isachenkov, in collaboration with dedicated colleagues, earn AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner honors.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Tip unleashes blizzard of AP coverage on Breyer’s SCOTUS retirement

met the highly anticipated moment, leveraging a tip to deliver fast, sweeping coverage on the retirement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Collaboration across continents keeps AP ahead on journalist’s release

teamed up to break the news that American journalist Danny Fenster was free from prison in Myanmar and heading home via Qatar.Former U.S. diplomat Bill Richardon had unexpectedly announced the release during a routine call, setting the AP, which had covered Fenster’s detention closely, in motion. Building on close contacts they’d nurtured with Richardson’s team, AP coordinated with its bureaus across continents to meet Fenster and Richardson en route to deliver visuals, video and text in advance of the competition.Bangkok reporter Grant Peck, alerted to the release by Southeast Asia news director Kiko Rosario,broke the news that Fenster was free and traveling with Richardson. Peck and Asian-Pacific correspondent David Rising anchored the fast-moving story, then Asia news director Adam Schreck worked with his Persian Gulf counterpart, Jon Gambrell, who arranged for a freelancer to get comments and visuals of Fenster in Qatar.The Asia team also coordinated with New York. where photographers Craig Ruttle and Seth Wenig captured images of Fenster’s arrival. Reporter Bobby Calvan, with video journalists Ted Shaffrey and Joe Frederick, then secured interviews with Fenster and Richardson after their news conference.https://aplink.news/d62https://aplink.news/5zghttps://aplink.video/21fhttps://aplink.video/7rx

Best of the Week — First Winner

Sensitive reporting, compelling storytelling on spike in Zimbabwe teen pregnancy amid pandemic

Writing about teen pregnancy is difficult under any circumstances, requiring equal parts thoughtfulness and responsibility. That is how AP’s team in Zimbabwe, photographer Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi and writer Farai Mutsaka, joined by South Africa video journalist Sebabatso Mosamo, approached the story of how pandemic lockdowns led to a sharp rise in teen pregnancies and the consequent loss of girls’ educational opportunities, a problem affecting many southern African countries.

Gathering facts to support the story took months, as Mutsaka worked with officials to access the available data. Then the team faced the challenge of finding families willing to speak on the record. Most wouldn't talk publicly, but Mukwazhi and Mutsaka found a 13-year-old who wanted her story told. The pair repeatedly explained the possible consequences to her family and others they met with, ensuring the story’s subjects fully understood what it meant to have their names and photos published.

The months of care and persistence paid off with compelling text and images, including a sensitive video by Mosamo. For responsible coverage providing insight into a difficult, important and often painful subject, the team of Mutsaka, Mukwazhi and Mosamo is AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP reporter locates plundered antiquities in Israeli museum

revealed that weeks after an American billionaire agreed to forfeit $70 million in looted antiquities to U.S. authorities, three of the items were still on display in Israel’s national museum.The AP was the only outlet to follow up on the Manhattan district attorney’s recent deal with Michael Steinhardt, a New York-based art collector and philanthropist with deep ties to Israel. Ben Zion found that the Israel Museum was home to several of the items seized, including a 2,200-year-old Greek text carved into limestone, with Steinhardt listed as the donor who provided them. The Jerusalem-based reporter also located a 2,800-year-old inscription on black volcanic stone, a Steinhardt-owned artifact of uncertain provenance that wasn’t included in the deal.Ben Zion, who has reported extensively on antiquities in Israel, tapped contacts inside the museum, the antiquities trade and the academic community to pin down the story. Neither Steinhardt nor the museum appear to have wanted the subject made public. They gave only brief prepared statements after repeated prodding.AP’s story comes as museums are facing greater scrutiny over the chain of ownership of their art, particularly work looted from conflict zones or illegally plundered from archaeological sites. There are growing calls for such items to be returned to their countries of origin.https://aplink.news/rau

Best of the Week — First Winner

Resourceful AP team dominates all-formats coverage of Colorado inferno

When a winter grassland fire exploded along Colorado’s Front Range two days before New Year’s, destroying nearly 1,000 homes and forcing tens of thousands to flee, AP staffers in all formats rushed to document what is likely the state’s most destructive fire ever.

The coverage included first video and photos of the massive flames on Day One, giving AP a quick competitive edge from the start. AP stayed ahead in the days that followed with staffers trekking for miles into the burn area, quickly delivering text, video and photos as residents returned to the remains of their homes. The reporting also placed the blaze in the larger context of global warming in the American West.

During a busy news week, the initial fire coverage was among AP’s top stories.

For compelling all-formats content from this rare, horrific winter fire, the team of Eugene Garcia, Dave Zelio, Thomas Peipert, Colleen Slevin, Jim Anderson, Martha Bellisle, Brittany Peterson, Patty Nieberg, David Zalubowski and Jack Dempsey is AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Family photo reveals a heartbreaking story in tornado’s aftermath

obtained a stunning family photo in the aftermath of tornadoes that tore through the South and Midwest. That image, combined with Hanna’s reporting and a video interview, tells the wrenching story of a young storm victim, 9-year-old Annistyn Rackley, who died when a tornado destroyed the family’s Missouri home. Even amid AP’s remarkable body of work on the storm, this story stood out.Topeka, Kansas, correspondent Hanna had run across the name of Annistyn’s aunt in a routine member story about a vigil for storm victims. Through Facebook sleuthing he eventually found the aunt, Sandra Hooker, who said, “My heart is broken, but I will help you in any way I can.”In an initial conversation with Hooker, who is close to the Rackley family, she mentioned receiving a photo by text shortly before a tornado blew the Rackleys’ home apart. The photo shows Annistyn and her sisters taking shelter in a bathtub as the storm approached; Annistyn is holding her favorite doll, MawMaw. Fifteen minutes later the home lay in ruins and Annistyn was dead.Hooker wanted to honor Annistyn’s memory and secured the Rackley family’s permission for AP to use that photo and others. She also did an interview with Hanna by Zoom, one of several follow-up discussions they had.Hanna’s moving one-man, all-formats coverage — his story, the photo of Annistyn and his interview with her aunt — was among AP’s top enterprise stories in the wake of the storm, with strong play across the U.S. and internationally.https://aplink.news/fwvhttps://aplink.video/bpo

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: US envoy secretly visited Venezuela on hostage mission

combined sleuthing and great source reporting to break a story that the Biden administration was trying to keep secret: that the U.S. government's top hostage negotiator was secretly visiting Venezuela as part of an ongoing effort to secure the release of jailed Americans, including American oil executives known as the Citgo 6.The AP pair has followed the case since the 2017 detention of the oil executives. When Latin America correspondent Goodman learned that a U.S. government flight was traveling toward Venezuela, he flagged it to Washington-based national security reporter Tucker, who quickly confirmed with sources that the plane was carrying Roger Carstens, the U.S. government’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. They spent the next several days reporting the details of Carstens’ visit. Goodman pressed multiple sources to learn Carstens visited American detainees behind bars and had also met with aides to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.Tucker, who has a history of reporting on hostage and detainee cases, then landed an exclusive interview with Carstens after he was safely out of Venezuela. The envoy shared first-hand details of his visit with the prisoners.The result was a vivid tale of the first known face-to-face outreach in Venezuela by a senior U.S. official since at least 2019. It earned widespread attention from CNN, which gave AP prominent credit, and other major news outlets. The story was even bigger in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin and South America. And while others eventually reported their own stories, they did not get Carstens. His lone interview was with AP. https://aplink.news/i7u

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Source’s tip leads to scoop on LGBT immigrants’ safe haven

teamed up for an AP scoop on an American first: A Massachusetts church that supports immigrants has opened a new home for LGTB asylum seekers fleeing their countries because of their sexual orientation.Boston-based immigration reporter Marcelo has cultivated an impressive network of sources in the course of robust beat reporting in New England. Those contacts paid off when a lawyer who had previously connected Marcelo with a client for a national story reached out with a tip on the community of LGBT refugees who’d fled government-sanctioned brutality in their homelands because of their sexual orientation and identification. That set in motion considerable discussion about what these asylum seekers from Jamaica, Uganda and other LGBT-hostile nations would be willing to say — and whether they'd consent to be photographed.Marcelo and Boston photographer Senne found subjects willing to open up. The result was an evocative, nuanced, unique and highly visual package that shed light on a little-reported aspect of immigration. Senne's dramatically lit portraits further elevated the work.Marcelo’s story is the latest in a series demonstrating that compelling narratives around immigration can be found, and told, far from the southern border. https://aplink.news/p0o

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Comprehensive coverage of abortion case before Supreme Court

delivered standout all-formats coverage as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Mississippi’s abortion law, a highly charged case with national implications for abortion rights. AP showcased its range and depth with previews of the case, spot coverage and analysis, and context on decades of abortion law. Looking well beyond the case itself, AP reported on the potential impact of the court’s pending decision.AP’s accomplished Supreme Court journalists, Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko, provided textbook setup pieces ahead of the case, then, once arguments were underway, used the seamless procedure they have perfected to report oral arguments from inside and outside of the court. News associate Parker Purifoy added color from outside the courthouse.At the same time, Washington colleagues Jill Colvin and Hannah Fingerhut, along with New York-based Steve Peoples and David Crary, reported on the legal landscape that will follow any opinion, as well as public opinion and the potential political ramifications of the case. Washington’s Lisa Mascaro delved into the confirmation hearings of the various justices, raising questions over the reliability of those hearings for their future rulings on the high court.On the ground in Mississippi, South Region staffers Emily Wagster Pettus and Leah Willingham, with an assist from Sudhin Thanawala, produced a vivid story of what the day of the arguments looked like at the source.Washington’s Ashraf Khalil rounded out the reporting on what the future may look like with an analysis of the coming battle over abortion laws, while Sherman and Austin’s Paul J. Weber explored what a post-Roe world might look like through the eyes of Texans, where the nation’s most restrictive abortion law is in effect.Visuals elevated the coverage, including still photos from Washington photographers Andrew Harnik and Luis Magana, and video from Nathan Ellgren and Rick Gentilo, as well as scores of others who made AP’s coverage a collaborative effort.https://aplink.news/eo3https://aplink.news/072https://aplink.news/hhghttps://aplink.news/dtkhttps://aplink.news/8kthttps://aplink.news/9d4https://aplink.news/fe3https://aplink.video/m0ehttps://aplink.video/z5z

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Preparation, context put AP ahead on opioids verdict against pharmacies

used planning, prep material and contextualized coverage to put AP well ahead of the competition when a federal jury in Cleveland held pharmacy chains responsible for their role in the opioids crisis. The jury found CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties.Seewer and Mulvihill drafted prep that included not only the possible jury decisions but their potential impact on the larger landscape of opioids litigation. They also planned how to get the story out quickly, Seewer making sure AP was literally well-positioned, planting himself outside the courtroom waiting for the verdict. The result: an urgent filing by the East Desk’s Jeff McMillan that beat major competitors by at least 20 minutes, delivering remarkably strong play.Swift teamwork added reaction from both sides, as Seewer talked with lawyers at court while Mulvihill got statements from the companies and reached out to other sources. Photos prepared in advance were quickly linked, and the reporters also helped ensure AP had video of lawyers reacting to the verdict.The pair followed up the next day with even more context in a smart story that unspooled the central argument of the case — that the pharmacies creating a “public nuisance” with their dispensing — and looked ahead to how the verdict could affect other litigation and communities that want to hold pharmacies accountable.https://aplink.news/i6jhttps://aplink.news/qa9https://aplink.video/g20

Best of the Week — First Winner

Enterprising AP coverage of Rittenhouse trial reaches far beyond the courtroom testimony

AP’s team coverage led the pack for the three-week Kyle Rittenhouse trial — including word of Rittenhouse’s full acquittal in the killing of two protesters and wounding of a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin — thanks to smart, detailed planning and deep knowledge cultivated throughout the proceedings.

The foundation of the coverage was the daily testimony, but following a blueprint laid down during earlier coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis, it was the spinoff coverage, starting weeks ahead of the trial and carrying through after the verdict, that was key. A multiformat team of journalists delivered more than a dozen AP Explainers, enterprise pieces and video debriefings that went deeper into what was happening in court — and in some cases anticipated developments in the case.

The expansive team coverage figured prominently among AP’s top stories throughout the trial. AP’s explainer on the charges against the teenager remained at the top of Google’s “Rittenhouse” search results, placement that drove some 3.5 million pageviews on AP News before and after the verdict.

For comprehensive, speedy and illuminating coverage of a trial that riveted the country, the Kyle Rittenhouse trial team earns AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.