Best of the AP

Best of the Week - First Winner Jan. 19, 2024

AP dominates coverage of exceptional genocide hearings targeting Israel

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AP’s team in The Hague dominated coverage of the International Court of Justice hearings into South Africa’s accusation that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians, thanks to expertise in international law and solid planning across continents.

Across two intense days and under close global scrutiny, AP’s team explored and explained the hearings into accusations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Expertise in international law, knowledge of sensitive geopolitics and solid planning and coordination across continents contributed to AP’s showing.

AP’s coverage was front and center on customer websites and broadcasts around the world for two days straight. AP ran more than a dozen videos of the hearings and protests and reactions around the world. Video edits from The Hague alone scored more than 5,000 hits, and the live coverage over two days earned a staggering 3,300 hits. The top five videos on APNews on Jan. 11 were all from The Hague. The text stories with photos were among the top stories viewed both by customers and online. The New York Times was among customers featuring all formats of AP coverage on its website as the hearings unfolded.

For teaming up to tell the story of a case at The Hague that struck at the heart of Israel’s national identity, Corder, Furtula, Carlson and Casert share Best of the Week — First Winner.

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Best of the Week - Second Winner Jan. 19, 2024

Weeks of reporting and trust-building reveals a striking missed opportunity to prevent a mass shooting

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A combination of dogged document sifting, patient source building and persistence allowed New England reporter Holly Ramer to track down the best friend of the gunman in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting. She then convinced him to tell his story of the warning he gave to authorities about the shooter’s decline exclusively to the AP.

The tipster raised the most glaring in a string of red flags concerning Army reservist Robert Card when he told authorities to change the passcode to the gate at their training facility and arm themselves if Card showed up. Sean Hodgson gave the warning after watching his friend become increasingly angry and paranoid, while having access to guns and refusing to get help.

“I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting,” he wrote to his Army superiors on Sept. 15, six weeks before the mass killing.

Officials would downplay the warning, calling Hodgson alarmist. A police-commissioned report would largely absolve authorities of any wrongdoing, but critics say there were many missed opportunities.

For delivering a nuanced look at the many ways in which the situation could have been handled differently, which could have potentially saved 18 lives, Ramer is this week’s Best of the Week — Second Winner.

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