Best of AP — Honorable Mention

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Photographer Robert F. Bukaty finds icy gem in heat wave, leads text story on hottest day of year 

On the hottest day of the young summer season, Nate Lord uses an ice pick to break a block of ice before delivering it to a guest cabin at Rockywold Deephaven Camps, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Holderness, N.H. Ice harvested from Squam Lake during the winter is used for refrigeration at each cabin throughout the summer. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Nate Lord

It was one of the country’s hottest days of the year so far, and photographer Robert F. Bukaty could have gone the easy, trite route of finding kids playing in a sprinkler. Instead, he had the idea of introducing readers around the world to a New England tradition: gathering chunks of ice from a lake in the winter and storing them for use on hot summer days.  

Bukaty and Nick Perry went to the lake to gather material, then topped the story with a creative approach to a hot weather story alongside stunning visuals to show how it felt to be there. While at the lake, Bukaty’s colleagues Kathy McCormack, Holly Ramer and Lisa Rathke were out looking for steamy joy and sweltering suffering. There were food vendors, ice cream shops, cooling centers for the homeless. 

The three combined efforts with Perry and Bukaty to produce a heat story in all formats that stood out and resonated with readers. A true team effort, the journalists all stepped beyond their normal duties to produce an outstanding package. 

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