Honoring the Past, Engaging the Present: AP’s All-Format Coverage of the Vietnam War 50 years on

By Vietnam Anniversary Coverage Team

To mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, AP produced a deeply reported, visually striking, and thoughtfully curated digital package that showcased both its historical authority and contemporary storytelling capabilities.

Led by AP’s Asia team — video journalist Hau Dinh and reporters Aniruddha Ghosal and David Rising — the project stood out for its editorial ambition, global coordination, and ability to connect with audiences across generations.

The package blended archival materials — including the final dispatches from the AP Saigon bureau and a curated collection of iconic war photography — with fresh reporting that explored the war’s long-term impact. These stories included investigations into the lingering effects of Agent Orange and the rise of Vietnam war tourism. A “Then & Now” photo series provided a powerful visual narrative of the country’s transformation over five decades.

Cross-department collaboration was key. In California, Jae Hong and Tran Nguyen produced a moving photo essay on the war’s lasting effects on the Vietnamese diaspora. Terry Tang highlighted the overlooked experiences of Asian American soldiers, while Mark Thiessen and Julie Watson contributed a story on how the war reshaped American society.

The Entertainment team added a cultural lens with digital-first guides on war-era films, books, music, and television. Writers and critics Jake Coyle, Maria Sherman, Hillel Italie, Andrew Dalton, and Jocelyn Noveck examined the war’s influence on pop culture, with Noveck contrasting portrayals of women in Vietnamese and Hollywood war films.

The project’s digital hub — designed by Dario Lopez and illustrated by Peter Hamlin — offered a cohesive and immersive experience. Coverage extended across platforms with a video explainer, live all-formats coverage on the anniversary day, and visuals from events in Ho Chi Minh City.

As one judge noted, the team “found a way to make the war relevant to the many people on Earth who weren’t around 50 years ago — particularly by delving into the entertainment and cultural aspects that bubbled up from the war. Such a cool way of taking an important anniversary that people don’t remember and putting it into a space where they can relate.”

For leaning into AP’s global footprint and journalistic legacy — and for the ambitious execution of a cross-generational, multimedia project — the Vietnam 50th anniversary coverage team wins this week’s Best of AP — Second Winner.

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