Planning and teamwork distinguish Tennessee execution coverage before and after failed lethal injection

Covering executions is a vital but emotional task, requiring precision, speed and compassion. The AP team of reporter Kim Chandler, chief video journalist Kristin Hall and photographer George Walker knew that Tennessee’s first planned execution of a woman in more than 200 years would resonate widely with audiences and focused their efforts on delivering rapid, expert coverage of Christa Pike’s death in all formats.

They had a meticulous plan laid out well in advance, with Chandler and Hall working particularly hard to build sourcing beyond the attorneys involved, including contacting the mother of Colleen Slemmer, the 19-year-old Pike was convicted of killing, and a detective who investigated the killing. All three AP journalists adapted repeatedly as events unfolded, from a last-minute court stay Wednesday morning to the shocking news later that night that the state had been unable to complete the execution of Pike despite administering two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital. Visual coverage included the jarring scene of an ambulance arriving to take Pike to a hospital and a debrief with Chandler about what she saw and heard as a media witness to the failed execution process.

The outcome of this execution was unlike any other in the modern death penalty era, and the team pivoted repeatedly to deliver live video, contextual reporting and essential images. Chandler’s witness account, informed by her experience covering executions elsewhere, was essential as people questioned how things went so wrong. The coverage also demonstrated the U.S. News team’s ability to successfully flood resources into a story to produce deeply reported coverage in the days after the failed execution.

The spot story was the most viewed of the week on AP News, and photo and video coverage saw extensive usage.

The judges were impressed with how the team cemented AP’s authority on a major national news story across all formats, with exceptional planning putting AP in position to pivot quickly as the story developed.

For delivering outstanding coverage in all formats, Chandler, Hall and Walker win this week’s Best of the AP — First Winner.