for scoring a 15-minute beat on the news that the Rolling Stones would postpone their North American tour after doctors told Mick Jagger he needed medical treatment and couldn’t perform. Fekadu was tipped off to the decision ahead of a public announcement. https://bit.ly/2WHGJoX
AP shed new light on what happened when Daryl Hall sued his longtime partner John Oates, in a scoop that was widely credited by other outlets.Read more
AP used sources and aggressively followed leads to take an idea and turn it into insightful and informative reads about the impact Deion’s early run at Colorado has had on the Black community and what it could mean for more diversity in the top college coaching ranks. Read more
was the first to report that the Grammys were in discussions to end its use of anonymous nomination review committees, which have been highly criticized for their lack of transparency. The Weeknd previously blasted the Grammy nominating process, calling it “corrupt” after he earned no nominations for the 2021 show despite having the year’s biggest single.Thanks to his deep sources at the Recording Academy, Fekadu, AP’s music editor, learned that the organization’s board of trustees was planning to discuss getting rid of the decades-old review committees. AP ran the story on a Friday morning before the board was scheduled to meet. Later that day, the Grammys rushed out a press release confirming the story and its decision to remove the review committees. The announcement came five days earlier than planned because of AP’s report, prompting several outlets to push the organization for more details.https://bit.ly/3xM1YZYhttps://bit.ly/3ui6z3X
Jocelyn Gecker’s bombshell investigation of sexual harassment allegations against opera superstar Placido Domingo started with a song.
San Francisco-based Gecker was at a party about 18 months ago when she noticed the beautiful voice of the woman next to her singing “Happy Birthday,” and complimented her. The woman was a former opera singer who confided that the industry had a dark underbelly, offering her assessment that “Placido Domingo is the Bill Cosby of the opera world.”
The discussion sparked months of work by Gecker to publicly reveal what many said had been an open secret in the opera world. In all, Gecker would find nine women who accused Domingo of sexual harassment and a half-dozen more who said the star made them uncomfortable. Getting people to go on the record proved challenging, but a breakthrough came when one of Domingo’s accusers agreed to tell her story on camera. The resulting 5,200-word story – and Domingo’s response – commanded instant attention and heavy engagement in global media.
For finding a major international story in an unlikely setting, and her care in dealing with sources while reporting tenaciously on a sensitive topic, Gecker earns AP’s Best of the Week honors.
for breaking the news that Jay-Z, who was set to headline the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, had backed out of the troubled festival. Fekadu got the news by keeping in touch with all the scheduled performers to find out if they would go forward with the August festival. The AP previously reported that Dead & Company and John Fogerty also backed out. https://bit.ly/2yojBBL
When Gov. Kim Reynolds abruptly fired Jerry Foxhoven, the head of the Iowa Department of Human Services, she refused to say why.
But within days of the firing, Iowa City correspondent Ryan J. Foley got a startling tip: The ouster may have been due to Foxhoven’s over-the-top fondness for the late Tupac Shakur. A Freedom of Information Act request yielded 350 pages of official emails referencing the hip-hop artist, and on the day before Foxhoven was asked to resign he had sent a mass email to all 4,300 DHS employees telling them to commemorate Shakur’s birthday.
Foley’s story caused a nearly instant sensation in Iowa and among national outlets that credited the AP for the scoop while giving their own spin on the story.
For investigating a tip rather than laughing it off, and then writing a story that managed the rare feat of connecting state government to a 1990s rap icon, Foley wins this week’s Best of the States award.
for breaking the news that Nicki Minaj was pulling out of a performance in Saudi Arabia after several human rights organizations asked the rapper to cancel the show. https://bit.ly/2LbO7ak
for exclusive, all-formats access to a rare music concert by North and South Korean musicians in Shanghai. Kim, who had written about a failed 2015 attempt at a two-Koreas orchestra, acted on a tip from a good source, preparing the story and handing it off to Kang, who won over wary organizers and musicians. The coverage won play in South Korea’s top media outlets and internationally. https://bit.ly/2W22Zgy
for breaking news that Adele and her husband Simon Konecki have separated, getting the first statement from the singer’s rep about the split. https://bit.ly/2UCZGr9
for having a 24-hour exclusive on the Songwriters Hall of Fame nominees ahead of competitors. https://bit.ly/2RPhe2r
Mesfin Fekadu, music editor, New York, who was first to report on an official Prince tribute concert being planned by the musician’s family.
for securing exclusive, all-formats access for AP of popular sportscaster Craig Sager undergoing a rare third bone-marrow transplant ... http://apne.ws/2c9WhuD
for breaking the news that Jay-Z would become the first rapper nominated to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Fekadu was able to negotiate that the organization would not share the news with anyone else for a full day, meaning that every outlet had to use the AP story. http://bit.ly/2f8gR4J
for getting the first interview with Zayn Malik, formerly of One Direction, in which he talked about his former band and an eating disorder. http://wapo.st/2eNLyK9
for calculating the first specific estimate of Prince’s estate and showing the size of the fortune expected to be shared by the musician’s siblings and half-siblings. http://nyti.ms/2gV54WG
As soon as the flames were doused on an Oakland, California, warehouse known as the Ghost Ship two things were clear: The death toll would be huge, and telling the story would be complicated. It took a cross-format team effort to tell the story, and the staff in California rose to the occasion, including incoming San Francisco news editor Juliet Williams, who got an early start on her new job, dashing to the bureau from Sacramento to run the story.
Last weekend, the greatest show at the AP was Tampa, Florida, reporter Tamara Lush’s exclusive. Drawing upon relationships she built over years with the company that owns the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Lush was able to break the news: “The Greatest Show on Earth,” was folding up its tents after 146 years.
Circus owner Feld Entertainment approached Lush about what they said would be a scoop of “biblical” proportions. They reached out to her because of they knew and trusted her work.
Lush’s all-formats work earns the Beat of the Week.
for breaking the news that the racing team of popular NASCAR driver Danica Patrick had sued her primary sponsor for more than $31 million, an embarrassing setback for the sponsor and for her just a few weeks before the season begins. http://apne.ws/2lrDXlH
It was just a coincidence: Emails from 2010, showing that the Atlanta Falcons were worried about the team’s reliance on painkillers, were quietly entered into the court record as the Falcons were making just their second Super Bowl appearance. But AP sports columnist Jim Litke was prepared, and the result was a Super Bowl week scoop.
Litke's story is the Beat of the Week.
