What began as an experimental project ultimately illustrated how administrations have adapted the White House to reflect changing needs, tastes and historical eras. Over six months of planning, and without a dedicated budget, a team led by Washington Deputy Chief of Bureau Jack Auresto and video journalists River Zhang and Mark Vancleave brought more than 225 years of White House history to life in a 36-minute documentary.
Produced as part of the AP’s broader America 250 initiative, the film, “A Changing White House,” reflects a cross-format collaboration integrating original reporting, archival video, historical photography, expert interviews and graphic design. The release comes at a pivotal moment as the White House undergoes its most significant physical transformation in decades, including the restructuring of the East Wing to construct a new ballroom, the installation of a granite helipad bearing the presidential seal, a nearly 100-foot flagpole on the South Lawn and 24-karat gold embellishments in the Oval Office.
Notably, nearly 60% of the visual media was sourced directly from AP’s archives, supplemented by rare archival footage secured from eight presidential libraries and the White House Historical Association. The feature also includes exclusive perspectives from presidential family members, including Luci Baines Johnson, Clifton Truman Daniel and Massee McKinley, alongside prominent White House historians.
Devoid of traditional voice-over narration, the film relies entirely on first-person interviews and historical imagery to drive the narrative. By leveraging its proprietary archives and reporting access in an unscripted, long-form format, AP demonstrated a powerful new framework for storytelling beyond daily news cycles.
Within three days of its launch, “A Changing White House” generated more than 100,000 YouTube views. Viewers logged an average watch time of 8 minutes, 45 seconds, an exceptionally high engagement rate for long-form digital journalism.
Judges commended the project as an “amazing documentary,” highlighting its innovative, engaging and highly informative approach.
For exceptional journalism, meticulous research and stellar visual storytelling, Jack Auresto, River Zhang and Mark Vancleave are this week’s Best of the AP — First Winner.
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