Best of the Week — First Winner

Months of planning, smart execution result in dominating Oscars coverage

The envelope was opened, “Green Book” was announced as best picture at the 91st Oscars, and entertainment writer Andrew Dalton’s eyes shifted over to Spike Lee.

The director threw up his hands in exasperation and attempted to storm out of the Dolby Theatre before being told to return to his seat. Social media quickly lit up with disdain for the selection by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Dalton’s eyewitness reporting quickly fueled the criticism.

In a packed theater filled with actors and other journalists, Dalton reported what few saw and the television cameras didn’t show, giving the AP exclusive material and driving audiences to its comprehensive Oscars coverage.

Later that night, entertainment producer Mike Cidoni Lennox interviewed “Green Book’s” producers outside the Oscars’ official after-party, helping drive the following day’s coverage of the controversial win.

The reaction to the best picture winner capped dominating all-formats team coverage of the Oscars, the result of months of planning and preparation. AP customers received a steady stream of photos, video and stories, including film writer Jake Coyle’s deadline story which was viewed more than 88,000 times. Coyle had crafted prep for all the likely winners, allowing for fast updates when the envelopes were opened.

For their extensive planning, professional expertise and swift work, Dalton, Coyle and Lennox win AP’s Best of the Week award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP visual journalists lead the way at a one-of-a-kind Oscars

navigated issues of access, multiple locations and complex logistics in covering this year’s one-of-a-kind Academy Awards ceremony, altered from top to bottom by the pandemic.The event was one of the largest photo pools AP has ever run. AP’s remarkable access came as the result of years of relationship building with the film academy, which trusted AP to not only shoot photos of its marquee event, but also distribute those images to news outlets around the globe.Under the leadership of Kaufman, assistant director of photography, and with a workflow developed largely by photo editor Munoz, the team expedited some 1,500 still images to 11 members of the pool. Meanwhile, in London, Jankovic coordinated photographers and editors handling the Oscars’ global satellite locations — from Sydney to Stockholm to Kilkenny, Ireland, and points in between. Success meant assembling a team of AP staffers, including a team of 10 editors — most off-site due to pandemic restrictions — who quickly edited, captioned and transmitted the images. In addition, at the academy’s request, video journalist Turner shot the Oscars’ pool fashion feed – a key position that is highly valuable to clients looking for red carpet looks and unscripted moments.Bottom line: If you saw a photo from the red carpet, or a winner clutching the coveted statuette, chances are it was shot by the AP. The images were used in countless tweets, online stories and on dozens of newspaper front pages, notably above-the-fold play for shots of “Nomadland’s” best picture winners by Pizzello, who also authored a “Virus Diary” with his reflecions on being an entertainment photographer during the pandemic.https://bit.ly/3vpV8HDhttps://bit.ly/3gOI1eY

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP gets exclusive on how Oscars plan to avoid another best picture flub

for obtaining an exclusive walkthrough of new procedures by the film academy and accounting firm PwC to avoid another envelope flub like the one that resulted in the incorrect naming of the best picture winner at last year's Oscars. http://bit.ly/2EywzPo

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Standout Oscar photos/coverage of the slap seen round the world

kept AP ahead with fast, definitive all-formats coverage of the Oscars moment that shocked the world: Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock. As soon as Smith walked onto the stage and struck Rock over a joke about the actor’s wife, the AP Entertainment team pivoted its coverage of the otherwise generally upbeat Academy Awards ceremony, expediting remarkable photos, text and video of the confrontation — quickly but carefully. While other news outlets at first mischaracterized the incident, AP had it right from the start. Read more

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

US blocks Oscar-nominated cinematographer

for an exclusive report that U.S. immigration authorities made a last-minute decision to block a 21-year-old Syrian cinematographer from attending the Oscars. http://apne.ws/2mCrqMZ

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Casey Affleck apologizes for unprofessional behavior on movie set

for an exclusive, all-formats interview where celebrity Casey Affleck addressed his Oscars absence and the #MeToo movement, and apologized for the environment on the movie set for a 2010 film. https://bit.ly/2P6JlcZ