Best of the Week — First Winner

Ukraine visuals document an exceptionally dark chapter of the war; intelligence says aides misled Putin

AP teams have again dominated coverage of war in Ukraine on two fronts, this time in horrifying images of civilians killed in Bucha and surrounding areas outside Kyiv, and in stories out of Washington and London, where AP was first with a report that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aides have been misleading him about the war.

Recently declassified information from a reliable source led to Washington’s scoop that Putin was reportedly “misinformed by his advisors about how badly the Russian military is performing.” AP’s story beat the competition and scored sky-high reader engagement, and a smart follow-up out of London delved into the strategic value of declassifying such intelligence.

On the ground in Ukraine, AP video and photojournalists arrived Saturday in Bucha, outside Kyiv, after Russian forces were ousted. There they found civilians lying dead in the streets, destroyed Russian military equipment and dead Russian servicemen. The following day the AP journalists were first to record the bodies of eight men who were killed execution style, as well as a mass grave and the bodies of a village mayor and her family.

The grim images define one of the darkest chapters on the war so far and raise fears of what may be unfolding in areas as yet inaccessible to journalists.

For their vital role documenting this brutal episode of the war, and for revealing reports of failures in the Kremlin’s intelligence at the highest levels, the journalism of Nebi Qena, Sasha Stashevsky, Vadim Ghirda, Andrea Rosa and Rodrigo Abd in Ukraine, Aamer Madhani and Nomaan Merchant in Washington, and Jill Lawless in London receives AP’s Best of The Week — First Winner honors.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Persistence lands exclusive interview with Belarus president

delivered an exclusive, agenda-setting session with President Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus, in his first in-depth interview since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.AP spent more than two years in increasingly difficult negotiations to secure the interview, conducted by Ian Phillips, AP vice president for international news. The all-formats interview, including Lukashenko’s description of the war as “dragging on,” made headlines and was used around the world.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: Algorithm screening for child neglect raises bias concerns

teamed up on an exclusive package that revealed concerns over racial disparity in an algorithm used by one child welfare agency to help decide if a family should be investigated by child protective services.Long-term source work allowed the reporters to obtain research on the impact of the tool used to support social workers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, who make split-second decisions meant to protect children from neglect. The research showed the algorithm flagging a disproportionate number of Black children for a “mandatory” neglect investigation when compared with white children, and that social workers disagreed with the risk scores the tool produced about one-third of the time.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Standout coverage on rape trial of former Idaho lawmaker

delivered comprehensive gavel-to-gavel coverage from the dramatic trial of a former Idaho lawmaker charged with the rape of a 19-year-old intern. Reporting with authority and sensitivity, Boise correspondent Boone beat the competition with news of the verdict, then set about placing the case in broader context, speaking to experts who detailed the trauma of court proceedings for victims and pointed to national statistics showing very low rates of conviction in such cases.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Russians dare to protest war; AP dares to report it

gave voice to Russians who dare challenge the official Kremlin narrative of the war in Ukraine.The correspondent, unnamed for their security, used excellent reporting skills to build trust among sources in Russia who gave their accounts of speaking out against the war being waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the consequences they face for having done so.Read more

Best of the Week — First Winner

AP team tells the poignant stories behind ‘empty spaces’ as US nears 1 million COVID deaths

A team of AP journalists collaborated on an ambitious and innovative project to capture the approaching toll of 1 million U.S. deaths from COVID: They looked for the empty spaces, then told the stories of the individuals who had filled them. And they let the voices of those left behind reveal the mosaic of loss that has forever marked the country.

In true AP fashion, the package came together with extensive coordination across departments and formats, resulting in compelling content and an immersive presentation that resonated with customers and engaged the audience. The stories emerged among the most popular on AP News throughout the weekend and will be republished when the official toll hits 1 million. But the greatest barometer of success may have come came in the words of grateful loved ones of those featured in the stories.

For bringing fresh eyes and new voice to the once-unimaginable loss that will shape the way we live for years to come, the team of Adam Geller, David Goldman, Shelby Lum, Carla K. Johnson, Heather Hollingsworth, Samantha Shotzbarger and Elise Ryan is AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP profiles amputee running 102 marathons — in 102 days

tells the feel-good story we needed, in the person of Jacky Hunt-Broersma — an amputee athlete from South Africa who’s closing in on a new world record: running 102 marathons in as many days.New England editor Kole himself has a dozen and a half marathons under his laces, and his social media feeds buzz with compelling news from fellow runners.But Hunt-Broersma’s story was special. Kole surfaced it for a global audience, telling the incredible story of a woman who lost one of her legs to a rare cancer, only to set a grueling goal: covering the 26.2-mile marathon distance each day for 102 days, all on a carbon-fiber prothesis.The story, pegged to Monday's 126th running of the Boston Marathon, won widespread play, readership and social media interaction.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP dominates French election coverage with nimble live video

used sharp planning and fast election day pivots to put AP well ahead of the competition, delivering unmatched live and edited video coverage of the first round of France's presidential election — a vote with implications for Europe’s future.As the election unfolded Sunday, senior producer Schaeffer recognized leading French broadcasters heavily using AP’s morning live feed from voting stations. Seeing the demand, he and the team quickly committed to live coverage throughout the day. That usage by French broadcasters was particularly telling: They chose AP over their own coverage — and crucially, over AP’s major French competitor, a tribute to the broad, balanced coverage which dominated AP’s live offerings throughout the day.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Standout coverage of trial in alleged plot to kidnap Michigan governor

teamed up to deliver clear, accurate coverage of the weekslong trial of four men facing federal charges in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, including last week’s verdictDespite limitations on courtroom access, they provided readers with daily spot stories and several explainers on key aspects of the complex trial. The sharp coverage included seamless filing on the verdict, and live video as all sides weighed in after two of the men were acquitted and the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on the two alleged leaders.Read More

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

NBA at 75: Ambitious AP series explores social impact and the league

produced an in-depth monthly package for the NBA’s 75th season, taking a unique decade-by-decade look at the league’s role in social issues — without ignoring the memorable moments on the court. While other news organizations centered their coverage on the celebration of the milestone anniversary, AP’s all-formats series explored the impact of issues ranging from segregation at the league’s inception to COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter in recent years.AP’s NBA beat writers and their colleagues in Sports used relationships developed over the years to secure buy-in and exclusive interviews with key figures, including Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Dominque Wilkens, Spencer Haywood and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Each month’s package throughout the season featured a main story, an all-decade team, a timeline, AP Was There stories, photos, video and audio, all deftly displayed and regularly updated on an engaging hub.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP exclusive with the man who won a trip into space, gave it away

demonstrated the value of beat coverage and persistence, providing an all-formats, exclusive interview with the man won a coveted trip into space and gave it to a friend.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Reporting on horrific child sex abuse case reveals systemic failures

reported exclusively about a civilian U.S. Army employee who led a child sex in which he victimized his own adopted son and put national security at risk, all while the State of Arizona and the Department of Defense missed or ignored signs of his criminal behavior.Rezendes was investigating a separate story in Arizona when a source told him about the case. His reporting revealed that complaints had been filed against David Frodsham, the man at the center of the abuse ring, for years, but Arizona still allowed him to foster and adopt children, while the military kept him in sensitive management jobs, even though his behavior made him a national security risk.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP hours ahead on long-awaited immigration asylum decision

broke the news hours ahead of the competition that the Biden administration would end the asylum limits at the U.S.-Mexico border that were put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.For more than a year, the administration faced growing questions — and pressure — over when it would end a Trump-era rule that has resulted in migrants being expelled at the border without a chance to seek humanitarian protection.The clean beat was the product of years of source development and seamless leveraging of reporting from the White House, the investigative team and the immigration team. The spot news break was bracketed by a series of smart stories showcasing AP’s depth of expertise on immigration matters.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP explores implications of nurse’s conviction for medical error

elevated coverage of a Tennessee nurse’s trial by reporting the larger implications of the woman’s conviction for accidentally administering the wrong medication to a patient who subsequently died.Other news outlets focused their coverage solely on the trial of RaDonda Vaught, on trial for giving a patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center a medication that proved fatal, but Loller realized the case’s potential impact on health care workers and how they respond to mistakes. Her enterprising reporting, including exclusive details from an interview with the convicted nurse, resulted in an evocative, beautifully written story that resonated with readers.Read more

Best of the Week — First Winner

AP’s all-formats team delivers unmatched coverage of refugees fleeing Ukraine

With hundreds of hours of live coverage, gripping portraits of people fleeing, and broad takes on the impact of the migration wave, AP’s multiformat team covering people displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has provided unrivaled coverage of Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

AP journalists posted at Ukraine’s borders and within the country have put a human face to the mass movement of refugees, mostly women and children who have left their homes traumatized and exhausted, sometimes after being trapped for days or weeks in their basements to escape bombardment.

AP’s coverage started a week before the war began at the Medyka border crossing in Poland, which just days later would become a main entry point for tens of thousands of Ukrainians. In the month since, text, photo and video journalists have worked tirelessly to capture the surge, from the stress on countries accepting the brunt of the new arrivals to the generosity shown by volunteers opening their homes to the refugees.

For chronicling the exodus of an estimated 3.5 million Ukrainians with compassion, vigor and dedication to the story, AP’s border/refugee team earns Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Exclusive AP access to US flight over militarized Chinese islands

were the only journalists invited aboard a U.S. Navy reconnaissance flight over the South China Sea and China’s island outposts in the region. While Favila made photos and video of the Chinese military facilities built on man-made islands — and recorded audio of the warnings the aircraft received from China — Gomez landed an exclusive interview with Adm. John C. Aquilino U.S. Indo-Pacific commander.With the war in Ukraine raising concern over other potential international conflicts, Aquilino told AP that China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea and has armed them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets. He said the increasingly aggressive moves threaten all nations operating nearby. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP investigation: Toxic chemicals lie beneath Fort Ord

spent a year investigating the possible health effects of groundwater and soil contamination under Fort Ord, a decommissioned U.S. Army base on the central California coast. A tip led AP to a Facebook group of hundreds of soldiers who had lived at the base and developed rare forms of cancer they believe were caused by contamination.The complex, all-formats story included in-depth interviews with those likely suffering health consequences of exposure at the base, which is on the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of the most polluted places in the nation. The team revealed a discredited 25-year-old study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found no “likely” risk at the site, and documents showing the Army knew toxic chemicals had been improperly dumped at Fort Ord for decades, but took pains not to let that information become public. Read more

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)

AP: Sharp rise in reports of sexual assault at US military academies

broke news ahead of a Pentagon announcement: Sexual assaults reported at U.S. military academies have risen sharply.Longtime Defense Department reporter Baldor used a tip, source work and rigorous reporting to determine the closely guarded numbers for all the elite academies. And when the DOD asked her to hold the story, suggesting her information might be wrong, she stood firm. Baldor’s AP story moved more than an hour before the official announcement, her numbers confirmed by the Pentagon. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

The AP Interview: Fiona Hill warns ‘buckle up’ on Russia-Ukraine

collaborated on a rare 45-minute interview with Fiona Hill, a Russia scholar and analyst who served in the past three U.S. administrations. Hill offered AP a sober assessment of the Ukraine crisis.During the interview, spot developments in the standoff were relayed to the AP team for instant analysis from Hill. She provided so much insight that AP turned the interview into a two-part video edit, the first piece focused on the breaking news and the second story focused on Hill’s assessment of how Putin and Biden are managing the evolving crisis.All the interview elements, video and text, scored heavy usage and engagement, including a promotional clip for social media that had a cautionary observation from Hill, “The basic message is buckle up because this is going to be very difficult.” Read more