After an attack on Bourbon Street, AP staff from across regions and beat teams worked together to uncover details about the suspect, his weapon and military background, and intelligence documents, and to build an exclusive portrait of the suspect and the tragedy.
In the early hours of New Year’s day, the Nerve Center’s Bangkok news producer Lorian Belanger was alerted by Celine Louis in Editorial Support of possible truck driving into crowds on Bourbon Street. He immediately jumped in, reporting and writing the first urgents as he woke up Assistant News Director Jim Van Anglen, who began marshalling staff, most of whom were taking a break over the holidays, and video editor Matthew Catchpole and live planning producer George Negas began getting the AP positioned for lives and edits.
New Orleans-based photographer Gerald Herbert rushed to Bourbon Street, capturing stills and video from the ground and by air – a challenging task. In his own words: “The rooftops were in full sunlight, the streets in shadow, making it technically challenging to pinpoint the scene and get usable exposures.”
Freelance photographer Matthew Hinton and Nashville-based photographer George Walker delivered heart-wrenching images. VJ Stephen Smith went live ahead of competitors and was later joined by Houston-based Lekan Oyekanmi. Text reporters Jack Brook and Kevin McGill gathered reactions and critical eyewitness video.
Beat teams played key roles in uncovering exclusive details, confirming information about the suspect’s travel and revealing his military background. Among those contributing were Justice Department reporters Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer, investigative reporter Jim Mustian, Homeland Security reporter Rebecca Santana and Pentagon reporter Tara Copp.
A live blog and features like the “What to Know” sidebar, explainers and deeply human tidbits about the victims added depth and approachability to the coverage. A digitally forward approach ensured AP connected with readers in meaningful ways.
The judges noted the swiftness in which the staff responded to the story, the digital approach and the collaboration among staffers.
For surging resources on a major story and covering a multitude of angles for text and visuals, the US and Beats staff and the Nerve Center win this week’s 1st Best of the Week.
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