Best of the Week — First Winner

AP account of last journalists in Mariupol is a must-read; investigation builds case for war crimes

At great personal risk, AP’s team in Mariupol produced some of the bravest, most revealing work out of Ukraine. The backstory of their determined reporting is masterfully retold by Paris-based writer Lori Hinnant in a blockbuster, all-formats package that riveted readers around the world.

The stunning video, photos and text produced during 20 days and nights in Mariupol also contributed to an impressive AP collaboration with PBS Frontline, documenting Russian attacks on medical facilities, ambulances and medics — a deeply reported package in an ongoing effort to build the case for war crimes.

For extraordinary work in Mariupol and for telling the tale of the AP’s courageous journalism there, Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasylisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant share AP’s Best of the Week alongside the war crimes reporting team of Erika Kinetz, Michael Biesecker, Beatrice Dupuy, Larry Fenn, Richard Lardner, Sarah El Deeb, Jason Dearen and Juliet Linderman.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: Churches defend clergy loophole on child sex abuse reporting

joined forces to reveal how religious lobbying across the U.S. has protected a loophole that exempts clergy from reporting child abuse if the abuse is revealed in a spiritual setting. The subject had surfaced in Rezendes’ August investigation into the mishandling and coverup of child sex abuse cases by the Mormon church.The investigative reporters found similar dynamics playing out in all 33 states that have the loophole: The Catholic and Mormon churches, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses successfully defeated more than 130 bills seeking to create or amend child sex abuse reporting laws.AP’s reporting brought attention to the loophole and prompted at least one state lawmaker to say he would introduce a bill to close the exemption.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Washington team out front on blockbuster Trump probe document

used planning and preparation — and worked through the night — to put AP ahead on the Justice Department document that alleged efforts to obstruct the investigation of classified documents kept at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.When the nearly 40-page document landed after 11 p.m. Tuesday night, Washington reporters Tucker, Colvin and Balsamo quickly identified the newsiest, most salient points and filed an alert just minutes after the document had dropped, then followed with a textured, detailed story that moved before competitors had even published their own alerts. Kesten provided lightning-fast editing and filing, and photo editor Elswick expedited a key evidence photo.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: Despite sanctions, Russian goods continue to flow into US

documented that six months into the war in Ukraine, U.S. companies continue to import billions of dollars worth of Russian goods despite tough talk by the Biden administration about cutting Russia off from global markets.Working with data journalist Larry Fenn, the investigative reporters combed through thousands of records tracking every shipment coming from Russia, revealing a complex patchwork of sanctions that has allowed millions of tons of Russian goods to flow into the U.S. legally. The resulting story countered common perceptions of the sanctions against Russia and was played widely, engaging readers.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

The story behind Heller’s explosive 1972 ‘Tuskegee Study’ investigation

provided the first behind-the-scenes look at one of American journalism’s biggest scoops: how the AP's Jean Heller, then a 29-year-old reporter and the only woman on the wire service’s fledgling investigative team, broke the story of a notorious government experiment on Black men in rural Alabama.For the 50th anniversary of the AP exclusive on the Tuskegee syphilis study — where 600 Black men were left untreated for venereal disease for more than 40 years — national writer and visual journalist Breed interviewed Heller for video, text and photos, delivering an engaging narrative. Investigative intern Alyse Marin coproduced the compelling video featuring archival material and Breed’s interviews, including Heller and a descendant of one of the men in the study.Read more

Best of the Week — First Winner

Innovative AP team sheds light on methane ‘super emitters’ — invisible and virtually unregulated

It’s difficult to write a compelling story about a highly technical subject, harder still to produce a rich visual package on a literally invisible threat — but this all-formats AP team rose to the challenge, delivering an engaging package on “super emitters” of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas.

The journalists took the coordinates of 533 known sites along the Texas-New Mexico border and painstakingly cross-referenced them with public documents to piece together the corporations most likely responsible. And because methane is invisible, AP used a specialized infrared camera to make mesmerizing still and video images of the gas spewing into the sky.

The package, as distinctive as it is alarming, received heavy play and readership, and had impact: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it was launching an enforcement action.

For smart, innovative journalism, and above all teamwork, Michael Biesecker, Helen Wieffering, David Goldman, Mike Pesoli and Dario Lopez earn AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner honors.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP investigation reveals childhood vaccine crisis in Venezuela

produced a distinctive, exclusive investigative story using data analysis and deep reporting to reveal that many Venezuelan children lack access to essential vaccines, putting the country among the world’s worst for inoculating children against potentially fatal diseases and leaving neighboring countries vulnerable to outbreaks.Data on vaccination rates is elusive in Venezuela, where institutions are shrouded in secrecy, corruption and bureaucracy. The country hasn’t published rates since 2015. But Garcia Cano, Caracas-based Andes correspondent, obtained rare government data from a source, as well as estimates from public health agencies, showing the vaccination crisis is growing.She also visited clinics, spoke with families and interviewed public health experts for a comprehensive look at the availability of vaccines in Venezuela’s unraveling health-care system.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Teamwork delivers standout AP coverage of July 4 mass shooting

mobilized on July Fourth to deliver fast, multiformat coverage of the mass shooting at a parade in Highland Park, Illinois, that ultimately resulted in seven deaths and dozens wounded. Local and regional staffers responded quickly with all-formats coverage in the Chicago suburb while colleagues across the U.S. and into Mexico stepped in to assist with reporting, writing and editing.Monday’s efforts laid the groundwork for coverage in the days that followed, including more breaking news updates, victim profiles, a narrative on how the events unfolded, explainers, an investigative piece on how the suspect was able to get weapons despite Illinois’ red flag law and more.The mainbar story trended near the top on AP platforms for much of the week and made the front page of newspapers across the country.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Sweeping, sensitive coverage in aftermath of Buffalo shooting

led AP’s comprehensive all-formats coverage in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket. In the week that followed the racist attack, the team on the ground captured the sorrow and outrage of the city’s Black community, even as they reported on court appearances and press briefings.The team delivered sensitive and compelling enterprise pieces, including a chronicle of the victims’ last day, personal stories of grief and anger, how residents might find healing, and what the loss of the area’s only supermarket means to the fabric of the community.That work by the Buffalo team was complemented by a sweeping array of insightful stories from AP journalists around the country.Read more

Best of the Week — First Winner

Unique AP visual investigation points to 600 dead in airstrike on Mariupol theater

A deeply reported, innovative and meticulous AP investigation determined that the deadliest apparent war crime so far in Ukraine — the March 16 Mariupol theater airstrike — likely killed about 600 people, twice as many as previously reported.

AP’s first full-blown visual investigation drew on survivors’ accounts, photos, video, experts and a 3D digital model of the theater to reconstruct what happened that day. The resulting package offered a vivid, detailed narrative of the events inside the theater, including elements that had not previously been reported, all delivered in an arresting presentation.

For a remarkable investigation that harnessed the power of all formats to break news, the team of Hinnant, Ritzel, Chernov, Stepanenko and Goodman is AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP’s latest on Louisiana State Police: A culture of impunity, nepotism, abuse

deconstructed how the Louisiana State Police scandal of beatings and cover-ups could have gone on for so long, digging deeper into the institutional thinking of the agency, its history and the background of key figures. They interviewed dozens of current and former troopers and uncovered thousands of pages of documents that described an entrenched culture of impunity, nepotism and in some cases outright racism.This story, the latest in their investigative series stemming from the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene, was built around a father who rose to second in command of the state agency despite being reprimanded for racist behavior, and his son who became one of the state police’s most violent troopers — with the brunt of his use of force directed at Black people.Mustian and Bleiberg, federal law enforcement reporters, also had never-before-reported details of a 2019 cheating scandal in the state police academy that targeted the entire class for dismissal. In the end, nearly everyone in the class was allowed to graduate. And they conducted a revealing interview with the head of the state police in which he admitted he doesn’t know how many other cases like Ronald Greene’s could still be out there because “we’ve not looked at every video.”The story, accompanied by video and photos by multiformat journalist Allen Breed, added to calls for a federal investigation, and Louisiana lawmakers created a special committee to dig into reports of excessive force. The piece also resonated with readers, scoring strong play online and ranking as one of the most-engaged stories of the week.https://aplink.news/3zuhttps://aplink.video/ysmhttps://aplink.news/xda

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

All-formats sweep as AP breaks news of Supreme Court nominee

beat all the competition, breaking the news of President Joe Biden’s nominee for the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy. AP flooded the media space with content on every platform, delivering a comprehensive package that told customers and readers everything they need to know about federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, what comes next and who bears watching in the process.The initial scoop came from smart source work, and the impressive range of content that quickly followed was made possible by advance coordination across formats and departments — AP was poised with thorough preparation on each of the front-runners for the nomination. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Enterprising reporters reveal another China far from Olympic bubble

delivered two compelling stories far from the hermetically sealed and officially sanctioned Olympic bubble, focusing on marginalized people in Chinese society and official efforts to suppress unflattering media.Resourceful reporting by Kang and McNeil revealed the success of Chinese government efforts to subdue unrest in Tibet, the site of violent protests during the 2008 Summer Games hosted by China.And Wu reported the story of a chained woman 500 miles from Beijing who was shown in a viral video with a chain around her neck, her circumstances unclear. Chinese authorities tried to block the video but Wu revealed another side of China, where creative netizens stay one step ahead of the censors to keep injustices from obscurity.AP’s Tibet story was unmatched in any format. Other Chinese and foreign outlets covered the chained woman story, but not with the depth and detail of AP. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Investigation reveals global market for illegal Brazilian gold

teamed up to expose those involved in Brazil's illegal gold trade, from the illicit mining on Indigenous lands to the global market.Mining on Indigenous lands in Brazil is not new. Numerous stories have been done on the practice, detailing the environmental and cultural impact of the illegal gold mining. But the AP investigation went a step further, naming those involved in the practice and tracing how the precious mineral travels from the mines of Brazil to global brands.For their widely read investigative stories, published in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Brazil News Director Biller, Latin America correspondent Goodman and freelance journalist Cowie obtained dozens of documents and conducted interviews with prosecutors, federal law enforcement agents, miners and industry insiders.Cowie and photographer Penner trekked hundreds of miles into the Amazon to report comprehensively on those engaged in the illegal mining and those involved in the illegal gold trade — a cross section of individuals and companies ranging from shady fly-by-night operators to legitimate businesses.Among their findings: Brazil is investigating an air taxi company contracted by the country’s health mionistry that transports Indigenous people and medical equipment. The company is also suspected of using its planes to bring in prospectors and supplies for illegal mining.And a thorough AP review of public records revealed that Marsam, a refinery that provided minerals for Brazil’s 2016 Olympic gold medals and now processes gold ultimately purchased by hundreds of well-known publicly traded U.S. companies — among them Microsoft, Tesla and Amazon — is linked to an intermediary accused by prosecutors of buying gold mined illegally on Indigenous lands and other areas deep in the Amazon rainforest.https://bit.ly/3HWThQDhttps://bit.ly/3qnwc3Nhttps://bit.ly/3FzcFSb

Best of the Week — First Winner

‘You had me at AP’: Sweeping coverage of Jan. 6 anniversary showcases AP’s depth and range

Rolled out over the week of Jan. 6, AP's one-year anniversary coverage of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol stood out in a highly competitive field, with exclusive content across text, photos and video, including an interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Weeks of preparation and reporting paid off in broad, deep, insightful coverage. Among the offerings: lawmakers recounting their experiences inside the Capitol on the fateful day, a profile of protester Ashli Babbitt, AP staffers’ first-person accounts of covering the riot, the stubborn hold of conspiracy theories, teachers around the country debating how to teach the event, and much more.

Photos and video were no less compelling, highlighted by the exclusive and widely used on-camera interview of Pelosi, who chose to sit down with AP rather than the networks on the eve of the anniversary.

For demonstrating the AP’s ability to deliver best-in-class content across platforms on this major anniversary, the team behind the Jan. 6 coverage is AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Best of the Week — First Winner

Resourceful AP team dominates all-formats coverage of Colorado inferno

When a winter grassland fire exploded along Colorado’s Front Range two days before New Year’s, destroying nearly 1,000 homes and forcing tens of thousands to flee, AP staffers in all formats rushed to document what is likely the state’s most destructive fire ever.

The coverage included first video and photos of the massive flames on Day One, giving AP a quick competitive edge from the start. AP stayed ahead in the days that followed with staffers trekking for miles into the burn area, quickly delivering text, video and photos as residents returned to the remains of their homes. The reporting also placed the blaze in the larger context of global warming in the American West.

During a busy news week, the initial fire coverage was among AP’s top stories.

For compelling all-formats content from this rare, horrific winter fire, the team of Eugene Garcia, Dave Zelio, Thomas Peipert, Colleen Slevin, Jim Anderson, Martha Bellisle, Brittany Peterson, Patty Nieberg, David Zalubowski and Jack Dempsey is AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Sourcing puts readers inside stolen military weapons plot

used the last major installment of the “AWOL Weapons” investigative series to take readers inside an attempted sale of stolen Army ordnance.LaPorta’s textbook source development yielded access to private text messages and Facebook groups, as well as exclusive interviews with both the government informant and one of the men he helped bust, providing intimate details of the intended weapons sale to narcotraffickers that ended instead with a SWAT team raid at an El Paso, Texas, truck stop.The story, written by Dearen, was produced by the digital storytelling team of Raghu Vadarevu, Natalie Castañeda and Peter Hamlin with the distinctive visual presentation of previous installments. A well-conceived social media plan by audience engagement journalist Elise Ryan helped drive remarkably strong readership: The piece led AP’s platforms for pageviews (more than 100,000) and reader engagement for the day.https://aplink.news/mvhhttps://apnews.com/hub/awol-we...

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AWOL weapons: ’Explosive’ investigation of missing military ordnance

expanded AP’s “AWOL Weapons” investigation, revealing how explosives are lost or stolen from the U.S. armed services, sometimes with deadly consequences.When AP reported in June that the U.S. military couldn’t account for all its firearms, the team knew there was more to uncover. Their latest installment reports that hundreds (if not thousands) of armor-piercing grenades and hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives also vanished.AP’s investigation was built on data the team extracted from the military, and which data editor Myers marshaled for analysis. Investigative reporter LaPorta filed the original Freedom of Information Act request with the Marines, obtaining data that was crucial to framing the scope of the problem, while video journalist Hall and investigative reporter Pritchard used exclusive investigative case files to detail how troops stole plastic explosives. At a major Marine base a sergeant hoarded C4 because he feared Donald Trump would lose; after another insider theft, explosives ended up with high school kids.Hall found a man who survived the explosion of an artillery shell at the Mississippi recycling yard where he worked. His co-worker died. That emotional interview alone drew more than 56,000 Twitter views. Combined with exclusive interrogation footage of Marines, video journalists Serginho Roosblad and Jeannie Ohm wove together a compelling video package using interviews by colleagues Stacey Plaisance and Robert Bumsted. Senior researcher Jennifer Farrar also contributed.The online presentation by Raghu Vadarevu, Natalie Castañeda and Peter Hamlin took the distinctive visual language they previously developed for the series and gave it even more impact. Thanks also to the expert wordsmithing of editor Jerry Schwartz and a well-conceived social media plan by audience engagement specialist Elise Ryan, the package scored over 130,000 views on AP News, more than double other top stories. The story also generated media buzz, including a prominent interview with Hall by CNBC’s Shepard Smith.https://aplink.news/xjghttps://aplink.news/d7yhttps://aplink.video/xnn

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Rapid all-formats AP response after SUV plows into holiday parade

quickly swung into action when an SUV plowed into a holiday parade just as many in Wakesha, Wisconsin, were sitting down to Sunday dinner. AP delivered vivid all-formats coverage, broke news and followed up with detail-rich enterprise that included a reconstruction of the vehicle's deadly path.AP’s swiftly updated mainbar balanced the evolving information on casualties with heart-wrenching detail gleaned from livestreamed video, the smartphones of spectators and telephone interviews with marchers and witnesses. Madison-based supervisory correspondent Scott Bauer anchored the first night’s coverage, with video journalist Mike Householder speeding to the scene from nearby Kenosha, where he had been on assignment for the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.Early the next morning, lead Justice Department reporter Michael Balsamo tapped his sources to break the news that that police were looking into whether the driver had been fleeing from a crime. Investigative reporters Michael Biesecker and Bernard Condon contributed key research and reporting to flesh out the suspect, and Condon and Bauer teamed up for a fresh take when it emerged that the suspect had been free on astonishingly low bond of $1,000 — for an alleged crime that involved intentionally running over a person. Reporters Tammy Webber, Todd Richmond and Condon broke down the case for intentional homicide charges.But the most powerful offerings of the week revolved around the victims. Chicago-based Sara Burnett, with reporting from Katie Foody, Tim Sullivan, Webber and Bauer, took readers along the parade route with a reconstruction of the tragedy that a senior news manager described as “amazing writing.” And Sullivan, with reporting from Foody and Webber, brought to life the “Dancing Grannies” — the troupe of cheerful women who lost three of their number plus a volunteer.https://bit.ly/3cZeTyuhttps://bit.ly/3rksadfhttps://bit.ly/31fD757https://bit.ly/3cYN89ihttps://bit.ly/3pf1gkihttps://bit.ly/3D5q6Ixhttps://aplink.video/jaa

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP partnership examines Biden’s troubled border policy

produced an authoritative look at President Joe Biden’s border policy, drawing on interviews with administration officials, internal documents and intelligence reports, and on-the-ground reporting. The story was AP’s first collaboration in partnership with AIM Media Texas, a consortium of newspapers in the Rio Grande Valley, including The (McAllen, Texas) Monitor.Well before the arrival of some 15,000 Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in September, Spagat, AP’s lead immigration reporter, had been looking closely at the Biden administration’s border policy. The uneven and often chaotic response to that September surge underscored that Biden, despite campaign promises to overhaul immigration and now with nearly a year in office, lacked a coherent plan for the border.To uncover how Biden's policy, or lack thereof, had come to this point, Spagat teamed up with Monitor investigative reporter Gonzalez, obtaining memos that detailed early conversations about border policy, conducted interviews with high-ranking current and former U.S. officials and Mexican authorities. Exclusive internal documents, obtained through sources and Freedom of Information Act requests, included email traffic between Border Patrol officials during the surge and a tally of the thousands of migrants released into the U.S. despite the administration’s tough talk of expelling migrants.Editors Katie Oyan, Jerry Schwartz and Peter Prengaman worked closely on the text and photo editor Alyssa Goodman built a striking presentation. Video journalist Manuel Valdes produced a strong piece that elegantly broke down the weak points in Biden's border policy.The end result was arguably the most comprehensive look to date at how Biden's border went from hopeful to chaotic. The piece appeared widely in news outlets across the U.S.https://aplink.news/8ojhttps://aplink.video/8wv