The 2000s: Chronicles of an evolving news landscape and the world around it

In the 2000s, AP photos served as a vital lens into a world shaped by profound events. From the Sept. 11 attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami, the photo wire delivered immediate and powerful connections to the decade’s defining moments through images.

Embracing the transition from analog to fully digital workflows enabled faster transmission of high-quality visuals, allowing photographers to send photos directly from the field at cultural milestones such as the Beijing Olympics and the election of Barack Obama, to newsrooms almost instantaneously, ensuring photos reached global audiences in real time. By combining technological innovation with impactful storytelling, AP cemented its role as a trusted witness to history in an era of rapid evolution.

Award-winning breaking news photography

The AP has won 36 of our 59 Pulitzer Prizes for photography. In the 2000s, these awards were for photos of federal agents raiding a home in Miami where a six-year-old Elian Gonzalez was held, a photo-series covering the bloody combat in Iraq, and visuals depicting clashes in the West Bank.

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** FILE ** An Iraqi man celebrates on top of a burning U.S. Army Humvee in the northern part of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, April 26, 2004. Soldiers exposed to Iraq’s increasingly lethal roadside bombs, which can rip through even armored Humvees, are drawing upon wartime experience and stateside expertise to upgrade their vehicles with improvements like stronger armor and thermal detection cameras. This photograph is from a portfolio of Associated Press photographs that won the 2004 Pulitzer prize in breaking news photography, the AP’s 48th Pulitzer. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
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