Chauvin trial verdict, a Tigray refugee family: Diverse coverage exemplifies AP at its best
By The AP team covering the Derek Chauvin trial; Cara Anna, Nariman El-Mofty and Mohaned Awad in Sudan
From major breaking news in the U.S. to unmatched international enterprise reporting, AP proves why, 175 years in, it remains an indispensable new source:
First, AP’s teamwork delivered unmatched breaking and explanatory cross-format coverage of a trial that framed the conversation on race and policing; then, a trio of AP journalists produced a riveting package on a Tigray father’s harrowing journey with his newborn twins, a stark illustration of the devastating war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
People cheer in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after guilty verdicts were announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the May 2020 death of George Floyd. Chauvin was found guilt of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd. – AP Photo / Morry Gash
Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin listens as guilty verdicts are read at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, in his trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd; image from video. – Court TV via AP
Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is taken into custody at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after guilty verdicts were read at his trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd; image from video. – Court TV via AP
People rally outside the courthouse in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after guilty verdicts were announced in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. – AP Photo / Morry Gash
Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, left, raises his arms during a news conference in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, beside attorney Ben Crump after former police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
Gianna Floyd, daughter of George Floyd, joins family and supporters during a news conference in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after former police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of her father. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
Philonise Floyd, right, brother of George Floyd, speaks during a news conference in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
Attorney Antonio Romanucci, center left, an attorney for the family of George Floyd, hugs Donald Williams, a key witness in the trial of former police Officer Derek Chauvin, during a news conference in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. – AP Photo / Julio Cortez
A woman holds up a George Floyd poster across from the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after jurors found former police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd. – AP Photo / Jim Mone
Demonstrators gather outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after the conviction of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
A crowd gathers at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after a guilty verdict was announced in the trial of former police Officer Derek Chauvin for the May 2020 death of Floyd. – AP Photo / Julio Cortez
Demonstrators gather outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, to mark the murder and manslaughter conviction of former police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
Demonstrators gather outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis, April 20, 2021, after the murder and manslaughter conviction of former police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
A man holds a sign at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, April 21, 2021, one day after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on all counts for the May 2020 death of Floyd at the site. – AP Photo / Julio Cortez
A mural is seen through a woman’s glasses in Minneapolis, April 21, 2021, showing demands for the city before before barricades are removed around George Floyd Square. One day earlier police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on all counts for the May 2020 death of Floyd a the site. – AP Photo / Julio Cortez
An organizer speaks in front of a mural depicting George Floyd at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, April 21, 2021, one day after former police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on all counts for the May 2020 death of Floyd. – AP Photo / Julio Cortez
All-formats coverage from the courthouse in Minneapolis and beyond captured the reaction to a case that had triggered a reckoning on race and policing. Preparation for the verdict in the trial of former police Officer Derek Chauvin stretched back months, before the beginning of jury selection on March 9. The core Minnesota team covering the trial had prepared for that in coordination with colleagues on AP’s law enforcement and race and ethnicity beat teams, among others in the AP.
Reporters Amy Forliti and Steve Karnowski, a member of the print pool, and news editor Doug Glass watched the court proceedings virtually gavel to gavel, ensuring we mastered the facts of the case and were quick to identify patterns and subjects for enterprise coverage. Mohamed Ibrahim reported from outside the trial along with Tim Sullivan, with photographer Jim Mone capturing the scene outside the courthouse and across Minneapolis.
AP staffers in the Midwest and beyond contributed to the coverage during the weekslong trial,providing deep, cross-format enterprise pieces that included dozens of explainers,and as the verdict approached,a team of more than 10 multiformat journalists parachuted into Minneapolis to help cover reaction. We also experimented to make sure we were aware of trending topics and that our headlines were maximized to turn up on search.
AP provided multiple live feeds from Minneapolis — inside and outside the courtroom — as well as elsewhere in the U.S.,with more than 200 customers accessing the feeds. In addition,the AP filed about 40 video edits on the day of the verdict — about double what a major competitor offered — and we were faster getting those edits to customers. The week of the verdict, four of the top five customer downloads were from the trial. AP’s mainbar on the day of the verdict had almost four times the downloads of a typical top story. That story was also the most-read spot news story of the week on AP News,with more than 750,000 pageviews.
Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam, 40, holds his 4-month-old twin daughters Aden, left, and Turfu, inside the family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 23, 2021. Even as Tigrayans fleeing ethnic violence ran for their lives or jostled for space on a boat to safety, the sight of the tall, silent, sorrowful man carrying the tiny twin girls made people pause. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Far removed from Minneapolis,in the Tigray region of Ethiopia,the AP has led coverage of an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing. Last week,East Africa correspondent Cara Anna, Cairo-based photographer Nariman El-Mofty and freelance video journalist Mohaned Awad added to that body of work with a stunning narrative told hauntingly in all formats about the father of newborn twins who fled Ethiopia to Sudan with the infant girls after his wife died from complications of giving birth. As the story so searingly captured it: “Amid the heartbreak,the sight of a tall,silent man carrying a grimy pink bassinet slung around his neck with tiny twin girls would still bring out the kindness of strangers, even from the ethnicity targeting them.”
Tigrayan 4-month-old twin sisters Aden, left, and Turfu Gebremariam, lie together inside the family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 21, 2021. In the fear and despair of the days following their birth in Ethiopia, the twins were left unnamed. There was simply no time. Finally, their young brother, Micheale, christened them himself. One of the girls was named Aden, or “paradise.” The other, who reminds people of their late mother, was named Turfu, or “left behind.” – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam feeds his 4-month old daughter, Aden, inside their shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 21, 2021. Their village of Mai Kadra, in Ethiopia was the site of the first known massacre in a conflict that has left thousands of ethnic Tigrayans dead. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Micheale Gebremariam, 5, kisses his 4-month-old sister, Aden, as his 19-year-old uncle, Goytom Tsegay, left, sits with them inside the family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 21, 2021. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
A gate stands open, March 21, 2021, at the church where Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam prays in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia. More than 62,000 refugees from Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region are in Sudan. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam, center, prays at a church in the early morning of March 21, 2021, in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam walks back to his shelter after praying at a church in the early morning of March 21, 2021, in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan. As his family crossed the Tekeze River from Ethiopia, leaving ethnic bloodshed behind, he felt the burden of the previous month ease. “I was 100% sure the babies would grow up, that things would change from that moment,” he said. “Somehow my stress melted away. There were no more fears for our lives.” – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
A photo of Letay, the deceased wife of Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam, is seen inside the family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, March 14, 2021. Letay experienced a seemingly normal pregnancy in the Tigrayan region of Ethiopia, but suffered complications after giving birth to twin daughters. Nine days after the girls were born, amid ethnic violence in their village, Letay said to her husband, “Take care of my babies.” The next day she was gone. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Micheale Gebremariam, 5, plays with jewelry belonging to his lat mother Letay, inside the family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, on March 14, 2021. –
A handmade dress for 4-month-old Tigrayan twins Aden and Turfu Gebremariam, made from cloth belonging to their deceased mother Letay, is seen inside the family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, on March 14, 2021. Letay died of complications after giving birth to the twins at home amid ethnic violence in their village. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Micheale Gebremariam, 5, left, plays with a friend inside his family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 21, 2021. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Micheale Gebremariam, 5, hugs his 4-month-old sister, Aden, after waking up in the early morning at their shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 21, 2021. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Goytom Tsegay, 19, feeds his 4-month-old niece, Turfu Gebremariam, inside their family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 21, 2021. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam uses a flashlight to check on his 4-month-old twin daughters, Aden and Turfu, after praying at a church in the early morning of March 21, 2021, in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam buys tomatoes at the market in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 21, 2021. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Daniel Gebremariam, 11, center, looks at food rations being distributed in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 23, 2021. One day during the conflict in his home village in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, Daniel tried to visit the market and saw about 10 bodies being piled onto a vehicle for burial. He saw another four bodies in the dirt. He never went to the market again. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Daniel Gebremariam, 11, holds his 4-month-old sister, Turfu, as his brother Micheale, 5, eats with their 19-year-old uncle, Goytom Tsegay, left, inside the family’s shelter in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia, March 21, 2021. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Micheale Gebremariam, 5, sits on his bed in the early morning of March 21, 2021, in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
Tigrayan refugee Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam, 40, stands in a doorway of his family’s shelter in the early morning of March 21, 2021, in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, near the border with Ethiopia. His village of Mai Kadra in the Tigray region of Ethiopia was the site of the first known massacre of a conflict in which thousands of ethnic Tigrayans have been killed. – AP Photo / Nariman El-Mofty
The AP crew met the family the evening they arrived at a refugee camp in Sudan,and El-Mofty knew she had to make photos of them. Their story,produced under difficult circumstances,was so compelling that Anna relayed the information to an editor,then went back to spend hours with the family,gathering all the details necessary for a full narrative. The package,beautifully presented by Natalie Castañeda, recreated the family’s journey and built in enough suspense that readers were left wondering what would happen to them.
The story stood out for finding a streak of hope and common humanity in the middle of death and devastation. It ended on an incredibly poignant note: Eventually,one of the girls was named Aden,or “paradise.” The other,who reminded people of her mother,was named Turfu,or “left behind.”
For powerful journalism that defines the range and depth of AP’s global work,both the team covering the landmark Derek Chauvin trial,and the trio of Anna,El-Mofty and Awad,telling the arresting story of a Tigray family, share AP’s Best of the Week honors.
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