NEW YORK (AP) — Coverage of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the demise of Venezuelan society and fighting in Mosul, Iraq, won top honors in the 2017 Associated Press Media Editors Awards for AP staff, showcasing the news organization's excellence around the globe.
Hannah Dreier was a double winner for her work on “Venezuela Undone,” which painted vivid portraits of a once-wealthy society slipping into chaos and lawlessness. Dreier won the Samuel G. Blackman Award for Enterprise Reporting and also the John Winn and Margo C. Miller Award for excellence by an AP staffer 30 or younger.
“Her reporting is smart, brave, wide and deep,” judges said of Dreier. “Her writing is riveting, with a narrative drive built around compelling characters, critical situations and telling details. She produced these stories in an environment of great difficulty and considerable danger, using both traditional and alternative storytelling forms.”
Martha Irvine was honored individually and as part of the teams that produced “Ben’s Voice,” which judges called “a compelling look at the how parents cope with adult children with autism,” and “Beyond the Bullet,” a look at one boy’s new life after being shot, apparently randomly, on the streets of Chicago.
For the second year in a row, photographer Felipe Dana won for a body of work. This year, it was “The Battle in Mosul,” in the photo news story category, following last year’s win for “Zika: Ground Zero” in the photo feature story category.
“Dana’s package of photographs has a tremendous story arc, ushering viewers immediately into the fighting at the scene and then exploring all the consequences of that violence, before pulling back at the end to provide a sense of perspective,” judges said.
The annual AP contest honors the best staff work in news, multimedia and photography. Teams of judges are comprised of national board members of the Associated Press Media Editors. Winners will be recognized at the ASNE-APME-APPM News Leadership Conference being held Oct. 8-11 in Washington, D.C.
This year’s competition included a new category: Global Sports Accountability Reporting. The inaugural winners — John Leicester, Eddie Pells, Ben Curtis, John Minchillo and Roque Ruiz — examined the exploitation of B-level distance runners for financial gain.
“Rather than falling back on a ‘gotcha’ tone — which would have diminished the authoritative and balanced tone — the work portrays in a straightforward manner a situation that is thought-provoking, even tragic,” judges said.
A full listing of winners and honorable mentions:
DEADLINE REPORTING
Winner: “Pulse Shooting”
Honorable Mention: “Oakland Fire”
Honorable Mention: “Dakota Access Pipeline”
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SAMUEL G. BLACKMAN AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE REPORTING
Winner: Hannah Dreier, “Venezuela Undone”
Honorable Mention: Kathy Gannon, “Honor Bound”
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FEATURE WRITING, SINGLE STORY OR SERIES
Winner: Sharon Cohen, Martha Irvine and Charles Rex Arbogast, “Beyond the Bullet”
Honorable mention: Martha Mendoza, “Nepal Migrants’ Deadly Mystery”
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JOHN WINN AND MARGO C. MILLER AWARD
Winner: Hannah Dreier
Honorable Mention: Jake Seiner
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CHARLES ROWE AWARD FOR STATE NEWS REPORTING
Winner: Mark Scolforo, “Pennsylvania Open Records”
Honorable Mention: Jennifer McDermott, “Beat Coverage”
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BEST USE OF VIDEO
Winner: Martha Irvine, “Ben’s Voice”
Honorable Mention: Martha Irvine, “Beyond the Bullet”
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GLOBAL SPORTS ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTING
Winner: John Leicester, Eddie Pells, Ben Curtis, John Minchillo and Roque Ruiz, “Global Doping Impact”
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BEST DIGITAL STORYTELLING
Winner: Martha Irvine, Jonathan Bachman and Roque Ruiz, “Ben’s Voice”
Honorable mention: AP Election Roundup
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PHOTOGRAPHY – NEWS SINGLE SHOT
Winner: Burhan Ozbilici, “Turkey: An Assassination”
Honorable Mention: Manu Brabo, “Half-Buried Fighter”
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PHOTOGRAPHY – NEWS STORY
Winner: Felipe Dana, “The Battle in Mosul”
Honorable Mention: Ariana Cubillos, “Venezuela on the Edge”
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PHOTOGRAPHY – FEATURE SINGLE SHOT
Winner: Rodrigo Abd, “Ray of Light”
Honorable Mention: Daniel Ochoa de Olza, “Gay Pride”
Honorable Mention: Rodrigo Abd, “Melinda”
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PHOTOGRAPHY – FEATURE STORY
Winner: A.M. Ahad, “Bangladesh: Migrant Worker Life”
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