Best of the Week — First Winner

Fast response, resourceful work breaks news on Nashville’s Christmas Day bombing

When a bomb exploded in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, early on Christmas morning, AP’s local staff upended their holiday plans and sprang into action. They were soon joined by colleagues, many working remotely, who jumped in to help coordinate coverage and piece together what had happened. 

The team overcame severely limited access and communications to quickly deliver photos and break stories over several days, including the news that human tissue had been found at the explosion site, and the bomber’s chilling prediction of fame. 

The outstanding work attracted heavy play and readership. 

For mobilizing quickly and resourcefully over the Christmas holiday, Kimberlee Kruesi, Mark Humphrey, Eric Tucker, Mike Balsamo, Denise Lavoie and Mike Kunzelman share AP’s Best of the Week honors for the last full week of 2020.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Fast, nimble response puts AP far ahead on major Beirut fire

delivered fast, outstanding coverage as a major fire broke out at Beirut’s port, site of last month’s massive explosion.Ammar was nearby when the fire broke out and within minutes was streaming live video using the Bambuser app. Malla and Tawil also rushed to the scene, Malla shooting stills and sending direct to AP’s Middle East photo desk from his camera while Tawil set up a second live shot. AP was streaming live video for more than an hour before a competitive agency had its live shot up.AP’s video edits were also superior and much faster than the opposition, running quick edits of the fire, helicopters dropping water and two powerful edits shot with a drone, captured by Malla, who deftly switched between his camera and operating his drone to capture aerial photos and videos.And thanks to Ammar’s early response, AP’s news alert moved at least 20 minutes ahead of other major news outlets, further cementing the competitive advantage.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Deep reporting exposes the missteps leading to Beirut blast

delivered a stunning and disturbing account of the years of dysfunction behind Beirut’s massive explosion that killed at least 180 people. Based on exhaustive reporting and source work, the AP team produced the most detailed, comprehensive lead-up to Aug. 4, including what is known of the cargo, paper trail, circumstances and missteps that led to the devastating blast. https://bit.ly/34JIJUK

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

All-formats look at BP oil disaster, 10 years later

produced a comprehensive, multiformat Only on AP package marking 10 years since the fatal Deepwater Horizon explosion and massive oil spill. Three pieces ran over three days: investigative work that showed continued and increasing drilling risks, a personal look at how life has changed along the coast, and the lasting environmental impacts a decade after the disaster. https://apnews.com/DeepwaterHorizonSpill