The New York video team, working with their counterparts at the BNC in Washington, provided live coverage of teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg's arrival to the United States, handily beating competitors with numerous live shots and edited pieces.
After tracking Thunberg’s progress on Twitter and an interactive map, Morgan got early word that Thunberg would be arriving in the city within hours. He quickly decided to purchase two spots on a tourist boat, for one videographer and a photographer. Working with Morgan, videographers David Martin and Robert Bumsted devised a great plan for live shot positions. Freelance camera person Henry Morton was brought in to act as a third camera for Thunberg's arrival. Bumsted got on the boat and just past the Verrazano Bridge, they found the activist’s sailboat, on which she crossed the Atlantic to avoid adding to the planet’s carbon emission. Bumsted was able to provide the first live images of her at sea, beating the competition by several minutes. Several news outlets carried the live video, including ABC and NBC. Despite getting quite seasick, Bumsted stayed live for several hours. Martin and Morton were able to capture Greta arriving on land, and her remarks to the media, including a one-on-one interview, all of which went out live. AP Direct switched between the four live signals _ a top shot from the roof of AP’s headquarters, two ground shots from the port and the one from the boat. At the BNC, Tracy Brown and Donna Starddard handled the editing and filing, and got the material out quickly to AP clients.