02/04/2010

AP Press Release

The Associated Press to debut “Beyond the Medal” -- a daily Webcast from Vancouver Olympic Winter Games

Co-Hosted by Reality TV Personality and Professional Snowboarder Jesse Csincsak and AP Journalist Lila Ibrahim

NEW YORK -- The Associated Press has unveiled a dynamic online multimedia platform for its Winter Olympics coverage that will showcase up-to-the-minute results, video reports, rich photos, athlete profiles, authoritative stats and a daily Webcast from Vancouver called “Beyond the Medal.”

Debuting on Feb. 8, “Beyond the Medal” is co-hosted by AP journalist Lila Ibrahim and Jesse Csincsak, the professional snowboarder and reality TV personality – an entertaining duo who will report and sample the action at and away from the Olympic venues.

They will provide up-to-the-minute Olympics results, athlete interviews and a taste of the social scene and night life in Vancouver and the ski resort Whistler Village several times a day.

A preview of “Beyond the Medal” can be seen at http://wintergames.ap.org/beyond-the-medal?key=video

A snowboarder and outdoors enthusiast, Csincsak is known to millions of TV viewers for being chosen as the winner of the ABC reality show “The Bachelorette” in the 2008 season. The Colorado resident also has melded his life’s passion for snowboarding with his interest in show business by taking on the role of a snowboard coach in the MTV reality show “MADE.”

Ibrahim shares a background in television, having joined AP as a newsperson in Washington, D.C., in July 2007 after working for Channel One News and Fox News. Her span of work since then as a producer and reporter with AP Television has ranged from interviewing leading newsmakers in Washington to covering natural disasters to spotting lifestyle stories, such as the salon near the nation’s capital that used fish for pedicures.

The AP-hosted and ad-supported platform, found at http://wintergames.ap.org and on the Web sites of more than 900 AP member news organizations and broadcasters, will feature the journalistic efforts of the second largest staff in Vancouver after the TV rights holder.

Users can sign up for e-mail alerts. The “all media module” at the top of the site, which includes AP news, photos and videos, can be embedded by members or readers in their blogs, Facebook pages or Web sites. Users can also enjoy 16-by-9-inch format, a first for AP.

Follow the AP in Vancouver:

http://Wintergames.AP.org
www.Twitter.com/AP_WinterGames
www.Facebook.com/APWinterGames
AP Mobile: APNews.com

About The AP

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP.

On the Net: www.ap.org

Contact:
Jennifer Gilbert
Linden Alschuler & Kaplan Public Relations
212.575.4545 or jgilbert@lakpr.com

At The Associated Press at 212.621.1720:

Director of Media Relations Paul Colford
Manager of Media Relations Jack Stokes