NEW YORK – Associated Press journalists and staffers from Thailand, Ukraine, the U.S. and beyond are among the winners of the 2022 Oliver S. Gramling Awards, the highest internal honors of The Associated Press.
Created in 1994 to recognize AP staffers for professional excellence, the Gramling Awards are decided each year by a panel of judges from across the news cooperative.
The $10,000 awards come from a fund established by the estate of the late AP broadcast executive Oliver S. Gramling.
The judges this year evaluated submissions in three categories: journalism, achievement and spirit.
“This year’s recipients represent extraordinary tenacity, unflappable courage and steadfast commitment to AP’s mission,” said AP President and CEO Daisy Veerasingham. “They produced journalism amid arduous conditions, they supported and inspired their colleagues and, in the face of challenges, they created growth opportunities for the AP.”
Here are the 2022 winners:
$10,000 Oliver S. Gramling Achievement Award
- AP Reporters Ukraine team
A collaboration between AP Global Media Services, which provides broadcast facilities and live positions for broadcasters, and news staff allowed AP to provide live reports from Ukraine to clients around the world. The team’s composure, preparation and determination underscored their commitment to AP’s mission. Their work brought in substantial revenue and is a prime example of how innovation and collaboration can create a significant business opportunity. The AP Reporters Ukraine team is represented by: Philip Crowther, GMS international affiliate correspondent, Chicago; Josef Federman, news director for Israel, Palestine and Jordan, Jerusalem; Jon Gambrell, news director for the Persian Gulf and Iran, Dubai; Nico Maounis, GMS head of special events Americas, New York; Ciaran McQuillan, GMS head of special events Asia, Bangkok.
$10,000 Oliver S. Gramling Spirit Awards
- Meg Kinnard, politics reporter, Columbia, South Carolina
Kinnard’s dogged reporting, perseverance and collegiality make her stand out. She’s a journalist’s journalist – from going above and beyond her duties to be a sole newsgatherer across formats, to being the first to volunteer to help on breaking news. Beyond all this, Kinnard, like so many AP colleagues across the globe, manages to do extraordinary work under extraordinary personal stress. Despite being diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, Kinnard worked as she went through treatment, even setting up a room to conduct Zoom interviews in the hospital. She exemplifies many unsung heroes at the AP.
- Enric Martí, deputy director of photography for global enterprise, New York
Behind every good photographer there is often a good mentor, and Martí is one of the best. He cares deeply about the person behind the camera, supporting them professionally and personally. He has guided and encouraged a long list of AP photographers who have captured some of the most iconic images in contemporary history. A photographer himself for many years, Martí today is praised by colleagues for his passion and unwavering ethics and is credited with inspiring photojournalists seeking to make an impact with their work.
- Waraporn “Pom” Saetung, Asia international finance administrator, Bangkok
Saetung is known to her colleagues as the person who maintains AP’s team culture across Asia. Usually the first person new arrivals meet, she is often also the one they remember most. Saetung’s efforts far exceed her role as finance administrator. She has helped evacuate staff family members from dangerous floodwaters, rushed payment to a staffer who needed to deploy to Ukraine, and even brings her mother’s homemade cooking to share with colleagues. She consistently aims to ensure her colleagues can do their best work without worrying about administrative matters.
$10,000 Oliver S. Gramling Journalism Awards
- Pete Brown, Top Stories Hub editor, Philadelphia
Brown’s dedication and capacity to improve every version of a story that crosses his desk is unparalleled. As a copy editor tasked with making every story better, his ability to say more with less and his surgical focus in chaotic situations has constantly kept AP smart. Brown has been vital this year in elevating AP’s spot coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war. During the global pandemic, Brown was instrumental in helping reporters and writers around the globe spot trends and find new pandemic-related angles, long after others had wearied. His calm, quick and steady precision continually help shape the news report.
- Mariupol team:
The stunning collection of searing visuals that have come to define the largest war in Europe since World War II speak for themselves. The three journalists behind it – the only international journalists inside besieged Mariupol – provided the world’s only window into what was happening on the ground. At great personal risk they told the story of a desperate city cut off from the outside world and, after three weeks, managed to escape under constant bombardment. Their heart-wrenching pictures – including the bombing of a maternity hospital – have rocketed around the world and defined the Russia-Ukraine war. The Mariupol team is: Mstyslav Chernov, video journalist, Kyiv, Ukraine; Evgeniy Maloletka, photographer, Kyiv, Ukraine; Vasilisa Stepanenko, producer, Kyiv, Ukraine.
This year, AP’s Russia-Ukraine team, comprising dozens of colleagues, was recognized with the 2022 Presidential Citation for Courage in Journalism for their critical efforts in helping AP cover the war in Ukraine. Despite facing incredibly difficult personal challenges, staff from several departments in both countries worked together to ensure AP could comprehensively tell the story of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Contact
Lauren Easton
Vice President of Corporate Communications
The Associated Press
212-621-7005
leaston@ap.org
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