Updates to AP’s Middle East team
In a memo to staff today, Middle East News Director Karin Laub announced changes to the team that covers the region in all formats:
AP first and fast on Soleimani strike
In a memo to staff on Friday, Managing Editor Brian Carovillano described how sourcing and teamwork allowed AP to dominate on the news of a U.S. drone strike killing Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, nudging the U.S. and Iran closer to the brink of war:
News leaders to Kerry: Free Jason Rezaian
Kathleen Carroll, senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press, has joined with other heads of news organizations in signing a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry calling on him to press his efforts to win the release of Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, jailed in Iran.
The story of a prolific pedophile: How AP’s investigation came together
The discovery of a teacher whom the FBI regards as one of the most prolific pedophiles in memory has set off a crisis in the close-knit community of international schools and prompted hundreds of people to contact the bureau, greatly expanding the potential number of suspected victims.
Why AP is publishing story about missing American tied to CIA
The Associated Press today is publishing an article about serious blunders at the Central Intelligence Agency and an effort to cover them up. At the heart of the story is a retired FBI agent, Robert Levinson, who was recruited as a spy by a rogue group of analysts inside the CIA. Without any authority to do so, the analysts sent Levinson into Iran, where he disappeared in 2007.