A rundown of AP's year-end coverage.
EDITORS:
Here are the plans for AP's year-end package. All stories will carry a YE- slug. This advisory will be updated daily Monday-Friday until Dec. 24 to reflect additions and changes.
The AP will not move a story of the year this year because of the unusual nature of the past year: 2020 itself is the story of the year. Instead, we will have separate packages on the coronavirus pandemic, racial injustice, President Donald Trump and other topics that dominated this year's headlines, looking at topics through a broad lens. Additionally, a major COVID project, COVID 2020 ATLAS, moves on Dec. 16 highlighting the impact of the pandemic on dozens of countries around the globe.
For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan. Find the AP’s latest coverage in the Year in Review hub on AP Newsroom.
UPDATES: Adds YE-VIRUS OUTBREAK-STUBBORN MISINFORMATION; YE-ONE GOOD THING-TOP 10 REPRISE.
YE-DISASTERS will move Thursday instead of Friday. YE-YEAR IN SPACE will move Dec. 16 instead of Dec. 14.
SENT:
YE-TOP PHOTOS-2020: A look back at the world that Associated Press photographers captured in 2020. SENT: Tuesday, Dec. 1
YE-ELECTION 2020-FUTURE SHOCK: Even after he exits the White House, President Donald Trump’s scorched-earth strategy of challenging the legitimacy of elections and seeking to overturn results by any means necessary could have staying power. SENT: Sunday, Dec. 6
YE-DEATHS: Recalling some of the influential figures who died in 2020. SENT: Monday, Dec. 7. Will be updated on merit through Dec. 31.
YE-TOP TV MOMENTS: AP’s television and media writers recount some of the 2020’s top televised moments in a year upended by the global pandemic and anticipation about the U.S. presidential election. SENT: Monday, Dec. 7.
YE-OVER IT AND NOT: There’s a lot to leave behind in 2020. But the year we’d love to forget includes a caveat or two. SENT: Monday, Dec. 7
YE-TOP 10 FILMS: AP’s film writers offer their lists of the top 10 films of 2020. SENT: Tuesday, Dec. 8.
YE-SPORTS PHOTOS 2020: The top sports moments in 2020 in photos. SENT: Wednesday, Dec. 9.
YE-MUSIC TOP SONGS: AP’S music critic breaks down the year’s 10 top songs. SENT: Wednesday, Dec. 9.
YE-MUSIC-TOP ALBUMS: A look at what the AP’s music critic deems the year’s top 10 albums. SENT: Wednesday, Dec. 9.
YE-POP CULTURE: A month-by-month look at major pop culture moments in a year in which the pandemic influenced just about everything. SENT: Thursday, Dec. 10.
YE-DISASTERS: 2020 was more than just a disastrous year it was a year of disasters. A record number of Atlantic hurricanes, horrible flooding in Asia and Africa, wildfires stretching from the top of the world in the Arctic to the bottom in Australia. The US set a record for disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damages. Central America and Louisiana were magnets for repeated hurricane strikes. Climate change played a key role. SENT: Thursday, Dec. 10.
UPCOMING:
FRIDAY, DEC. 11:
YE-ENTERTAINMENT-MAKING 2020 BETTER: Nothing about 2020 has been normal, but these stars and those inspired by them have tried to do good and brighten a bleak year. UPCOMING: By 5 p.m. Eastern/2200 GMT.
SATURDAY, DEC. 12:
YE-IN OTHER NEWS: Not since World War II has a single phenomenon dominated the news worldwide as the COVID-19 pandemic has in 2020. In the United States, a tumultuous presidential election and a wave of protests over racial injustice also drew relentless coverage. Overshadowed, to an extent, were other dramatic developments. Among them: China’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s democracy; an apocalyptic explosion in Beirut; the shocking helicopter-crash death of basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter. UPCOMING: By 9 a.m. Eastern/1400 GMT.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 16:
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COVID 2020-ATLAS: The virus that first emerged a year ago in Wuhan, China, swept across the world in 2020, leaving havoc in its wake. More than any event in memory, the pandemic has been a global event. On every continent, households have felt its devastation -- joblessness and lockdowns, infirmity and death. And an abiding, relentless fear. But each nation has its own story of how it coped. Fifteen-story package includes separates with text/photo/video from China, Japan, India, Iran, Israel, South Africa, Kenya, Italy, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Peru and U.S. as well as shorter takes on the pandemic's impact in dozens of other countries. Separate advisory planned.
YE-VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRANSFORMED ECONOMY: The coronavirus pandemic has transformed how people around the world work, shop and travel, shaking up entire industries and in some cases accelerating trends that were already underway. But which of those changes will endure when a vaccine is widely available and life goes back to something resembling normal? UPCOMING: By 9 a.m. Eastern/1400 GMT.
YE-YEAR IN SPACE: Astronauts blasted into orbit from the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade, three countries sent spacecraft hurtling toward Mars, and robotic explorers grabbed rocks from the moon and gravel from an asteroid for return to Earth. Space offered moments of hope, joy and glory in an otherwise difficult, stressful, COVID-inflicted year. UPCOMING: By 12 p.m. Eastern/1700 GMT.
YE--PHOTO GALLERY-ENTERTAINMENT: A look at some of the top photos from the entertainment realm in 2020. UPCOMING: By 5 p.m. Eastern/2200 GMT.
THURSDAY, DEC. 17:
YE-VIRUS OUTBREAK-STUBBORN MISINFORMATION: From hoax cures to speculation that coronavirus was created in a lab, misleading information around the coronavirus has overwhelmed the internet since the deadly disease began its spread across the globe nearly a year ago, changing the way billions of people live. Public health officials, fact checkers and doctors have tried to squash hundreds of rumors that have swirled for months around COVID-19. But misinformation around the pandemic has endured as vexingly as the virus itself. A look at five myths and conspiracy theories around COVID-19 that won’t die down. UPCOMING: By 11 a.m. Eastern/1600 GMT.
FRIDAY, DEC: 18:
YE-RELIGION-LOOKING AHEAD TO 2021: AP’s Religion team looks ahead for the 10 religion and faith storylines to watch in 2021. Among the topics discussed will be the postponed split among the United Methodists, religious freedom issues both in the U.S. and globally, interfaith action plans surrounding racial injustice and faith during the pandemic. UPCOMING: By 10 a.m. Eastern/1500 GMT.
SATURDAY, DEC. 19:
YE-RACE-A RECKONING: As protests and civil unrest spread across the U.S. following George Floyd’s death, elected officials, pundits and activists collectively heralded or bemoaned the moment as an overdue reckoning on systemic inequality and racism. But Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police is far from the country’s first reckoning on race. UPCOMING: By 11 a.m. Eastern/1600 GMT.
MONDAY, DEC. 21:
YE-TRUMP-LEGACY-PRESIDENCY: The most improbable and polarizing of presidents, Donald Trump will leave an indelible imprint on the office, shattering its norms while dominating the national discourse like no one before. Governing by whim and tweet, he deepened a nation’s racial and culture divides and oversaw a tumultuous four years that were marked by his impeachment, failures during the worst pandemic in a century and his refusal to accept his reelection defeat. UPCOMING: By 1 a.m. Eastern/0600 GMT.
TUESDAY, DEC. 22:
YE-VOTING LESSONS OF 2020: Despite a deadly pandemic, the 2020 presidential election produced a record turnout. Voting reform advocates say that shows efforts to make voting easier and more accessible work. They want to see changes such as expanded absentee, early voting and all-mail voting continue and even catch on in more states. Some Republicans, however, are drawing other lessons from 2020. UPCOMING: By 11 a.m. Eastern/1600 GMT.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23:
YE-TRUMP-LEGACY-BY THE NUMBERS: Yes, words matter. But numbers tell stories, too. From the U.S. death toll during the still-raging coronavirus pandemic to the president’s dream of a “big, beautiful wall” along the border to the near wholesale ideological realignment of the federal judiciary, here are some of the numbers that represent President Donald Trump’s legacy. UPCOMING: By 1 a.m. Eastern/0600 GMT.
YE-LIVES LOST-COPING AND REMEMBRANCE: While vaccines being developed offer hope that next year the world can turn the page on a pandemic that has upended daily life, for more than 1.5 million families 2020 will forever be the year that they lost loved ones — and the devastation and pain will remain. Over the course of 2020, AP journalists around the world profiled ordinary people who died from COVID-19 and grieving families left behind in a series called Lives Lost. For this year-end piece, we check in with some of these families to see how they are coping, if they are hopeful for the future and ask what is the one thing that reminds them most of their fallen loved one. UPCOMING: By 3 a.m. Eastern/0900 GMT.
YE-BUSINESS-WINNERS AND LOSERS: The pandemic created winners and losers in the business world, as we slipped on casual clothes instead of office attire, Zoomed into conference calls and waited at the door for our groceries to be delivered. People avoided stores, rarely got on a plane and used less energy overall. A look at products, companies and industries that flourished in the pandemic and those that fell behind. UPCOMING: By 11 a.m. Eastern/1600 GMT.
YE-COLLEGE SPORTS: The dominos started tumbling in March, when the NCAA abruptly called off March Madness, given no choice but to forgo a nearly $800 million TV payment that helps keep the entire college sports machine running. They played football in the fall, but it was hardly normal, and as the calendar flips to 2021 and the Coronavirus still rages, there are questions about the long-term viability of college sports as we know them. UPCOMING: By 1 p.m. Eastern/1800 GMT.
YE-ONE GOOD THING-TOP 10 REPRISE: We’ve hit every continent, except Antarctica, to publish stories about kindness since the pandemic changed the world as we know it. The series started in mid-March as “One Good Thing,” a series that highlights individuals whose actions provide glimmers of joy in hard times — stories of people who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small. We’ll reprise and update some of our Top 10 stories. UPCOMING: By 10 a.m. Eastern/1500 GMT.
THURSDAY, DEC. 24:
YE-LAMENTATION FOR SPORTS: The AP makes its annual foray into verse, this time capturing the rhythms of a sports year in upheaval. It began with the New Year’s Day death of David Stern and followed with the fatal helicopter crash of Kobe Bryant, the lockdown of sports, the struggles for social justice and the restart of games during a pandemic. As the year-end verse asks at the outset: “Well, had enough yet?/Don’t look at the score./How bad did it get?/Like nothing before.” UPCOMING: By 2 p.m. Eastern/2000 GMT.
FRIDAY, DEC. 25:
YE-MEMORABLE MOMENTS: The coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the sports world, but it wasn’t all bad news in 2020. The year no one will ever forget produced some memorable moments, from the Kansas City Chiefs winning their first Super Bowl in 50 years to Collin Morikawa driving the par-4 16th hole at Harding Park on his way to winning the PGA Championship at 23. UPCOMING: By 3 p.m. Eastern/2100 GMT.
SATURDAY, DEC. 26:
TRUMP LEGACY-JUDICIARY: With three Supreme Court justices among the more than 200 federal judges he appointed, President Donald Trump left an imprint on the federal judiciary that will be felt for decades to come. UPCOMING: By 3 a.m.
MONDAY, DEC. 28:
YE-SPORTS QUIZ: What wasn’t odd in sports this year? Consider the St. Louis Cardinals, their players riding in individual rental cars in a caravan from one city to another. There was the professional cyclist delivering medicine on his bike to the elderly in Italy. There was the Vanderbilt football team that turned to a female kicker. There was a horse named for Dr. Anthony Fauci. Once March rolled around, normal took a beating every day. UPCOMING: By 2 p.m. Eastern/2000 GMT.
YE-A YEAR DISRUPTED: Sports got taken down a notch in 2020. The lights went out in mid-March, soon after NBA commissioner Adam Silver flipped a circuit-breaker on the season. Some leagues flickered back to life within months, while most mega-events — the Olympics, the NCAA tournament and Wimbledon, among others — pushed back into 2021. What did we miss most? Fans. UPCOMING: By 2 p.m. Eastern/2000 GMT.
TUESDAY, DEC. 29:
YE-ATHLETES AND ACTIVISM: This year more than any other in decades, athletes stepped to the forefront on issues of racial injustice and get out the vote. From LeBron and Steph taking active roles in democrat causes and get out the vote to the Milwaukee Bucks refusing to play – and stopping NBA action - after the shooting of Jacob Blake to Naomi Osaka using the US Open as a platform to Kenny Stills being arrested at a protest march in Louisville, athletes were determined to make a difference. UPCOMING: By 2 p.m. Eastern/2000 GMT.
YE-SPORTS DEATHS: There were so many this year. A grim harbinger arrived right on Jan. 1 with the deaths of David Stern and Don Larsen. Kobe Bryant soon followed. By the middle of the year, it seemed a wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame was gone: Al Kaline, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver. Football said goodbye to Gayle Sayers, Paul Hornung and Don Shula. And deep into 2020, soccer lost one of its greatest in Diego Maradona. UPCOMING: By 2 p.m. Eastern/2000 GMT.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 30:
YE-RACE-A TRAUMATIC YEAR: Racism and inequity were thrust to the forefront in 2020 after the convergence of simultaneous American crises created by the COVID-19 pandemic, a contentious presidential election and racial unrest -- all things that have keenly impacted Black America and other communities of color. As the year ends, leading experts and activists grapple with how to move forward from a traumatic year and unite a bitterly divided nation in 2021. UPCOMING: By 11 a.m. Eastern/1600 GMT.
YE-SPORTS QUIZ: You’ve had time to shelter at home and bone up for the AP’s annual sports quiz. Month by month, a question is posed. Questions range from the IOC to Tom Brady, from Wimbledon to the Bundesliga, from the Washington Football Team to the Big Ten. Like just about all else this year the quiz will be graded on a curve. UPCOMING: By 2 p.m. Eastern/1900 GMT.
YE-EMERGING STARS: After all the cancellations and disruptions to 2020 sports calendar, a whole slew of athletes will look to make a name for themselves in ’21. Get to know several of those rising stars. UPCOMING: By 5 p.m. Eastern/2200 GMT.
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— The AP