Best of the Week — First Winner

Planning and preparation pay off in all formats at Bill Cosby sentencing

The two-day sentencing hearing and imprisonment of former TV star Bill Cosby ended a decades-long battle over sexual assault accusations against the comedian once known as “America’s Dad.” An AP team of reporters, photographers and video journalists drew on strong planning and coordination to excel in all formats while fending off a throng of competition.

The AP was ahead at all key moments in the sentencing, from a judge’s decision to label Cosby a sexually violent predator to the moment he handed down a sentence of 3 to 10 years and then denied bail. Staffers moved top photos to the wire almost instantly after they were shot, and provided live video of the scene.

For their excellent work in covering the Cosby sentencing, the team of Michael Sisak, Maryclaire Dale, Claudia Lauer, Pete Brown, Alyssa Goodman, Matt Rourke, Matt Slocum, Jackie Larma, Mike Householder and Joe Frederick share the Best of the Week award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Only On AP: Bizarre tale of publishing, divorce ... and poisoning?

for carefully piecing together, over the course of a year, a riveting saga about a small-town Arizona publisher who said his estranged wife tried to poison him. He then used his newspapers to publicly shame her even after law enforcement had cleared her and raised questions about his possible use of illegal drugs. https://bit.ly/2PLcz09

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: Condemned inmate who asked to die by lethal injection killed himself

for being first to report that a condemned inmate who had asked to be put to death by lethal injection, but whose execution had been twice called off by a court fight over the drugs to be used, had killed himself in his prison cell. https://bit.ly/2Qrys51

Best of the Week — First Winner

In the face of death, the party of a lifetime

In a world focused on life and survival, death is often unseen, endured in private and acknowledged in glowing obituaries or tragic news stories. It’s also mostly out of the control of the person who is dying.

Now, with nine U.S. states allowing terminally ill people to end their lives with fatal drugs, thousands of people have legally chosen how and when to end their lives.

Seattle Photographer Elaine Thompson has long wanted to show the real, personal side of what often comes across as an impersonal process. She spent months looking for the right subject, getting tantalizingly close to success before plans fell through. She stuck with it, and when she found Bob Fuller, she enlisted reporter Gene Johnson to tell his story.

This week’s Best of the Week goes to the team of Elaine Thompson and Gene Johnson who chronicled how one man, in the face of death, created the party of a lifetime.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Only on AP: Imposter pot vapes flood California as health crisis expands

for exclusive reporting that counterfeit vape pens and packaging are selling in in sight in downtown Los Angeles and online, fooling consumers, harming legitimate companies and possibly contributing to the spreading health crisis linked to vaping.https://bit.ly/2kW6B34https://bit.ly/2mtubEPhttps://bit.ly/2kocs0G