Orlanda, Florida, reporter Mike Schneider has led the way nationally on just about every aspect of the 2020 U.S. Census, from the many legal fights over who would be counted and when the massive effort would end, to confusion among census workers themselves about the task before them and the impact of the global pandemic on door-knocking efforts nationwide.
Vehicles stop at a drive-thru U.S. Census participation campaign organized by Montana Native Vote on the Crow Indian Reservation in Lodge Grass, Mont., Aug. 26, 2020.
AP Photo / Matthew Brown
When the count did come to an end, Schneider leaned on his wealth of sources to report the ultimate explainer story, spelling out in relatable terms where the count fell short in terms of both geography and demographics and its meaning for those left out. An AP senior editor called it “the best story I've seen about what went down, and what's at stake.”