Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP delivers fastest, most complete coverage of Trump refugee cap

teamed up to provide the fastest, most complete coverage of the Trump administration’s announcement that it would resettle no more than 15,000 refugees in 2021, another record low.Their work began days before the Sept. 30 deadline for a decision. Lee worked sources on his State Department beat, while Watson drew on her long experience covering refugees, speaking with advocates and with an Eritrean refugee in the U.S. whose dream of reuniting with his family became more remote as a result of Trump’s decision. At 11:26 p.m. on the evening of the deadline, Lee received confirmation of the 15,000 cap from the State Department. Watson rushed it to wire, delivering a 700-word story by 12:04 a.m., including a quote of Trump vilifying refugees at a campaign rally that night in Minnesota. A major competitor moved its story at 2:37 a.m., and no one else had a story for hours. https://bit.ly/2Gr9NyA

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP reveals details of Eritrean atrocities in Tigray region

reported the first detailed account of crimes being committed by Eritrean military forces within Ethiopia’s isolated Tigray region. Journalists following the crisis in the defiant region have struggled to find credible eyewitness accounts of the Eritreans’ presence. But the relentless work by Anna, AP’s East African correspondent based in Kenya, finally paid off: A source put her in touch with a woman, normally a resident of Colorado, who, while on a trip to Ethiopia, witnessed Eritrean troops and their crimes firsthand in the remote village where her mother lives. Anna was able to draw out shocking details of the killing of children, mass graves and the looting of homes.The story, widely used by AP clients, was hailed as the first to document Eritrean activity in Tigray. Anna followed up with a second scoop in which the U.S. State Department called for all Eritrean forces to leave Tigray immediately, citing “credible reports” of atrocities.https://bit.ly/3rqiyuehttps://bit.ly/3cOrDsKhttps://bit.ly/3jeRRpK

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Standout coverage of mass shooting at rural Thailand day care center

coordinated with a cast of colleagues from Southeast Asia to Australia to London, delivering coverage impressive for its speed and scope after Thailand’s deadliest mass shooting — 36 people dead, most of them children, at a day care center in one of the county’s most remote areas. The ex-police officer responsible also killed his wife and child, and then killed himself.Read more

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 Week — First Winner

Decisive win at Women’s World Cup – for AP Photos team

We all want to perform well on the big stage, and AP’s photo team did exactly that at the recent Women’s World Cup in France, a tournament that is being called the greatest edition yet of the sport’s most prestigious event.

AP’s photo coverage was strong from the outset of the 52-match marathon, but it was the crew’s performance in the championship final that really stood out. Intelligent planning from Paris and London, and brilliant execution by specialist photographers and remote editors saw AP photos dominate play with their coverage of the 2-0 victory by the U.S.

A five-strong team of photographers – staffers Alessandra Tarantino, based in Rome; Francisco Seco, Brussels; and Francois Mori, Paris; joined by freelancers Vincent Michel and Claude Paris – won the day in a manner arguably even more decisive than the U.S. women.

The list of front pages is long and includes prestigious titles like The New York Times, L’Equipe, The Guardian, The Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle.

For a performance that befitted the biggest stage in the world on July 7, the team of Tarantino, Seco, Mori, Michel and Paris – with international AP support – shares AP’s Best of the Week.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Exclusive coverage of historic Mozambique peace accord

for resourceful coverage of Mozambique’s historic peace deal as other international outlets struggled to catch up. Acting on a tip, the AP team overcame logistics hurdles to set up all-formats coverage at a remote wildlife park as Mozambique’s rebel-turned-opposition group disarmed and its leader warmly embraced Mozambique’s president. AP’s exclusive content, including the photo of the hug, was widely used and left competitors scrambling. https://bit.ly/2ZBHT78

Best of the Week — First Winner

From vote count to race calls to mood of the electorate, AP commits ‘single largest act of journalism’

AP delivered stellar work on the 2022 midterm elections with fast, accurate vote count and race calling, engaging explanatory journalism, unparalleled insight into the minds of voters thanks to AP VoteCast survey methodology, and ambitious, robust all-formats coverage. That teamwork chronicled an unexpectedly successful election for Democrats and the defeat of many candidates who supported baseless claims of 2020 election fraud.

The key to that performance was collaboration among formats, teams, departments and more across the entire AP, not just on Election Day but in the weeks and months leading up to Nov. 8 and beyond. That effort included a team of 60 race callers, AP’s expanded national politics team and its new democracy team, 30 live video cameras across the U.S., over 80 photographers and much more, all complementing the footprint of AP’s 50-state on-the-ground staff.

For reinforcing the cooperative’s longstanding reputation as the foundation of U.S. election coverage, AP’s vast, tireless U.S. elections team earns Best of the Week — First Winner honors.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Team coverage of African migrants at US-Mexican border

for impressive teamwork and collaboration, using AP’s footprint to tell the story of African immigrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers. When the migrants started showing up in remote areas of Texas, the immigration beat team deployed Selsky, a former Africa bureau chief. He found many of the African migrants being put on buses to Maine, where Whittle and Amendola picked up the story, covering Congolese and Angolan asylum seekers at a Portland gymnasium converted into a shelter. Selsky also coordinated relevant reporting from Europe, Africa and Latin America. https://bit.ly/2XVjbhc

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP Exclusive: SUV came through hole in border before crash

broke news by reporting that an SUV with 25 people crammed inside drove through an opening in the U.S.-Mexico border fence shortly before it collided with a tractor-trailer, killing 13. A multiformat AP team was among the first on scene after the crash in California’s remote imperial Valley. Over the next two days, AP provided exclusive photos and video and broke the news of the hole cut in the wall. Spagat, AP correspondent based in San Diego, had on-the-record information from the Border Patrol sector chief, allowing AP to report exclusively that surveillance video showed the SUV and another vehicle driving through the opening in the wall, and that the incident was believed part of an immigrant smuggling operation.https://bit.ly/3l8oAxLhttps://bit.ly/3qNcP1f

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP reveals lack of coaching diversity in women’s college hoops

took a deep look into a diversity issue in women’s college basketball that has been mostly overlooked — of the 65 Power Five head coaches, only 13 are Black women.Walker, who is helping cover the tournament remotely, stepped away from the action on the court to highlight the low number of Black women in the top coaching jobs. She interviewed coaches and administrators to get answers as to why so few and what needs to happen for that to change. And she led off the story with a telling anecdote -- when Dawn Staley and Joni Taylor met up in the Southeastern Conference Championship, it was the first time in 41 years that teams led by Black women had faced off in a tournament championship. After the story was published, a Vanderbilt official summed up the responses to the article in a note to Teresa saying, “Crushed it!” https://bit.ly/3wfqMc3

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Joint reporting reveals hidden suspensions of students with disablities

set out to document ways students with disabilities are excluded from the classroom — and from learning. Their reporting led to advocates who described working with families whose children were essentially kept out of school, with none of the records that come with formal suspensions. The families claimed their schools couldn’t or wouldn’t accommodate their students’ disabilities — a violation of federal law — and said the practice had gotten worse during the pandemic.Ma, race and ethnicity reporter in Washington, partnered with Kolodner, of the nonprofit Hechinger Report, who had been pursuing the same topic. Together, they interviewed 20 families in 10 states, and a top Department of Education official. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Coverage of China 737 crash features exclusive video

rushed to the site of the Eastern China Airlines crash on a remote mountainside in southwest China, teaming up with colleagues in AP’s Beijing bureau to deliver nonstop coverage over several days. The work by chief photographer Ng and video producer Zhang was notable for its breadth, particularly multiple live shots and video exclusives despite the country’s restrictive reporting conditions. Reporting in all formats saw strong usage by customers and high engagement on AP’s platforms. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Preparation, execution set AP apart on Johnny Depp testimony

teamed up to deliver timely, informed coverage of actor Johnny Depp’s testimony in the libel case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.With no in-courtroom communications or reserved seating for print reporters, Barakat drafted prep copy, then arrived early for Depp's testimony to ensure he got into the Fairfax, Virginia, courtroom packed with celebrity watchers. Finley, meanwhile, watched a remote live video stream, gathering full quotes and writing through the story until Barakat could add colorful details, fact checks and reaction from those in the courtroom.The AP pair provided quick, insightful, balanced coverage, even as some news outlets focused on outrageous quotes without the context or analysis provided by AP.Read more

Best of the Week — First Winner

Inaugural images: Talent and tech combine in sweeping, instant photo coverage

Remember these images from the Inauguration: The new first couple dancing across a giant presidential seal at a ball? Faces in the crowd cheering or crying in the rain? The instant when Donald Trump took in the scene through an opening door before stepping onto the podium to become the 45th U.S. president?

Credit for those signature images, which appeared across the globe almost as they happened, goes to the skill and artistry of a hand-picked team of AP photographers and photo editors – and also to the cutting-edge, behind-the-scenes efforts of AP technicians working hand-in-hand with them to cover the intensely competitive event.

Their extraordinary work, a stream of 2,000 photos sent from daybreak until well after midnight, earns the Beat of the Week.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP Exclusive: Wind energy, golden eagles collide in US West

collaborated on an exclusive all-formats package that revealed how the booming development of clean energy from wind turbines threatens the preservation of iconic golden eagles in the U.S. West. Brown, a veteran environmental reporter, used sourcing, records searches and interviews, finding scientists concerned that collisions with turbine blades could lead to decline of golden eagle populations which thrive on the same open, windy landscapes preferred by wind energy developers.To document the plight of the birds and efforts to preserve them, Brown and video journalist Tobin traveled to remote northern Wyoming, where scientists rappelled down rock faces in their study of the eagles, producing strong visuals to accompany the engaging and deeply reported text story.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

All-formats coverage of new mother and baby in flood-ravaged India

for his exclusive all-formats coverage of a young mother and her just-delivered infant as she and her family were flooded out of their village.

Nath traveled solo – first by road and then by boat – to remote, flooded areas of Assam state in northeastern India, where he persuaded a doctor to let him accompany a medical team that was going to visit a newborn delivered while the mother was trying to reach a hospital by boat. She had given birth before being forced back to her own flooded village. After a risky ride through swollen waters, Nath and the medics reached 20-year-old Imrana Khatoon and her infant daughter, and the decision was made to move them both by boat to another nearby hospital.

Despite challenging logistics, including no power, Nath shot photos and video of the entire sequence as the team worked in candlelight. Then, once back in communication, he coordinated text, photos and video with editors. The result was an exclusive, visually-driven package of determination, hope and new life in the flood-ravaged region.https://bit.ly/2ZaJNeQhttps://bit.ly/2GtReX3https://bit.ly/2YjvWWr

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Intrepid work reveals boats built for migrant smuggling

spent a week on assignment in Western Sahara, gaining exclusive access to a little-seen but vital piece of the migrant smuggling chain — boats that are built to order, then spirited from the remote desert sand to carry migrants to the Canary Islands. A European Union agency calls it “the most dangerous migratory route in the world.”El Shamy, North Africa photographer based in Rabat, Morocco, was closely monitored by security agents in the disputed territory, but was able to slip into the desert in company with locals. There, he was introduced to a senior member of a smuggling network and was able to convince the smugglers that he would protect their anonymity while photographing them at work. His initiative and courage were rewarded with striking images and detailed reporting on the thriving trade of supplying boats for the perilous Atlantic migrant route.https://bit.ly/3t1Wc43https://bit.ly/3cmUZyo

Best of the Week — First Winner

AP documents international child labor as families put children to work during pandemic

When Mexico announced in August that its 30 million students would start the school year using a combination of internet and television-based distance learning, many poor families chose to send their children to work to help survive the pandemic’s economic toll. 

With tens of millions of out-of-school children worldwide, AP decided to look at this sad phenomenon on a broad level, from Latin America, where children hammered away inside amber mines or labored in brick kilns, to Kenya where girls had been forced into prostitution while others broke rocks in a quarry. 

For their important and compelling work, the team of Maria Verza, Eduardo Verdugo, Alexis Triboulard, Carlos Valdez, Juan Karita, Carlos Guerrero, William Costa, Jorge Saenz, Tom Odula, Brian Inganga, Sheikh Saaliq and Dario Lopez wins AP’s Best of the Week award.

Best of the States

Texas effort to streamline hurricane recovery backfires

As the six-month mark approached of Hurricane Harvey hitting Texas, Austin Administrative Correspondent Will Weissert and Fort Worth Correspondent Emily Schmall teamed up to report exclusively that the state’s decision to lead housing recovery – meant to be faster and better than anything the federal government could muster – was actually resulting in backlogs that made the chaotic response after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina look good by comparison.

Acting on a tip, the duo dug into federal records and added field reporting to produce a multi-format report showing that delay by the governor, and the state land office’s steep learning curve, meant temporary shelter and quick-fix home repair programs were rolling out at a startlingly slow pace.

For excellent sourcing and taking a deeper look at Texas’ hurricane recovery process, Weissert and Schmall share this week’s Best of the States prize.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP live, exclusive: Kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls released

had previously covered the 2014 kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls, and were well aware of the challenges they would face working in remote Zamfara state after hundreds of girls were kidnapped from a boarding school in northwest Nigeria on Feb. 26. And when the girls were released the March 2, the resourceful pair overcame all obstacles to deliver outstanding coverage, particularly live video.After making their way to Gusaure, the state capital, video journalist Oyekanmi and photographer Alamba had carefully reviewed the security situation on the ground, talking to local journalists and officials, as well as with AP editors, before setting off for the school to report on the missing girls. Returning to the capital after a day on the road, they worked well past midnight filing their work on balky internet. Then, with little more than two hours sleep, Oyekanmi received a tip from a local friend that the girls had been released. They roused their driver and raced to the Government House, powering up their live video gear as they drove. They talked their way past security and were broadcasting live exclusively at 5:50 a.m. local time as the schoolgirls were brought back safely for medical check-ups and reunion with their families. Their work dominated AP customer video usage around the world on the day, and Alamba’s photo coverage was no less impressive.https://bit.ly/2PW0vPnhttps://bit.ly/2OOdGRDhttps://bit.ly/2OGdgNkhttps://bit.ly/3lafpgd