Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: Proposal to hide import data would shield labor abuses

broke the story of a proposal backed by leading U.S. corporations to hide key import data — data vitally important to researchers and investigative journalists seeking to hold corporations accountable for the mistreatment of workers in their overseas supply chains. A tip from an industry source brought Goodman’s attention to a group of 20 major companies seeking to keep vessel manifests, and thus sourcing, confidential.AP published Goodman’s scoop as the corporate group pitched its proposal behind closed doors in Washington. The piece prompted an outcry from members of Congress and groups advocating for responsible sourcing and greater transparency in global supply chains.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

When liquor overtook beer in purchases, AP was ready

were the multiformat team that unearthed a newsy gem: spirits supplier revenues for alcoholic spirits have surpassed beer in overall market share.Read more.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

All-formats team scores big in print, video with package on U.S. legal marijuana glut

scored huge play with print, online and video customers with a deeply reported, all-formats examination of the crash of the U.S. West Coast’s legal marijuana industry in the absence of federal legalization.  Read more.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

New Bedford once lit the world with whale oil. Now it wants to do the same with wind

knew offshore wind turbine pieces would depart Europe for New Bedford — and that the ship steaming in would be the visual representation of the arrival of the offshore wind industry in the U.S.Read more.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Smart source reporting and preparation led AP to dominate coverage of the approval to sell, for the first time, lab-grown meat in the U.S.

broke the news on June 21 that U.S. regulators had, for the first time, approved the sale of a new kind of meat made from animal cells.Read more.

Best of the Week — First Winner

AP sets authoritative tone in Titanic submersible coverage

AP journalists followed the sun and worked across regions and formats to document the saga of the missing Titan submersible for a full week of nonstop coverage that broke news, offered smart enterprise and analysis, live updates, chunky digital first explainers, graphics, live and produced video content, radio pieces and a comprehensive photo report.   

A report that a deep-ocean submersible was missing near the site of the Titanic was confirmed early in the week by a small group of AP reporters. What came next was a marathon of coverage that spanned nearly every hour of the day for several days, the world waiting as 96 hours of breathable air would have been slipping away along with hopes of finding survivors inside the doomed Titan. As the story unfolded, it revealed an industry that largely lacks regulation and oversight.   

The coverage contributed to AP digital platforms’ strongest week of the year, with 9.6 million page views across the web and app on Wednesday. Ramirez’s fact-check about the Titan was the week’s most-viewed story. The Titan sub explainer detailing the latest in the investigation was AP’s second most-engaged story, with an engagement score of 95. Traffic was enhanced by multiple breakout stories to highlight key topics of interest among readers.   

For using the breadth of the AP to successfully tell a fast-moving story from multiple angles, the AP Titan team wins this week’s first citation for Best of the Week. 

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Yearlong photo project shines spotlight on coal-country drag 

help show that this is more than just entertaining, but a way of life.Read more.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP explains how drug cartels are using Ecuadorian bananas shipments to send cocaine to Europe

AP explored how bananas and cocaine end up inside the same shipping containers for transatlantic trips to European ports, why the ubiquitous fruit has become a favorite of drug traffickers, and what Ecuador’s main port city feels like as crime and violence transforms people’s lives.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Brussels bureau’s teamwork leads to aggressive reporting in Belgian attack

AP delivered aggressive, dominating performance on one of the biggest breaking stories of the week when a gunman picked three Swedes traveling to a soccer game in Belgium and fatally shot them with an AR-15 rifle in downtown Brussels.Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP sheds new — and noticed — light on Hall & Oates lawsuit

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

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Cocoa grown illegally in a Nigerian rainforest heads to companies that supply major chocolate makers

AP reported on cocoa plantations spreading illegally into protected areas of Nigeria’s Omo Forest Reserve and traced how the cocoa from the reserve is used by companies that supply major chocolate makers globally.Read more