Nine Associated Press staffers were named winners of the news cooperative's annual Oliver S. Gramling Awards for excellence, with honors ranging from Illinois' statehouse to Baghdad.

See the release below:

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NEW YORK -- The Associated Press has named nine members of its worldwide staff as winners of the 2010 Oliver S. Gramling Awards for excellence, including a photographer whose body of work extends from the battlefield to the playing field and a statehouse reporter who consistently breaks news that leads legislators to act.

“Julie Jacobson's ability to produce imagery that captures the immediacy of human action and of its consequences, in everything from sports to war, is emblematic of the high level of versatility AP photographers bring to each and every assignment,” said AP President and CEO Tom Curley. “John O'Connor's tenacious reporting in Illinois embodies AP's fundamental mission in every state capital of holding government officials accountable for their actions.”

The not-for-profit cooperative is the only newsgathering organization with a presence in all 50 states.

Besides Jacobson and O'Connor, the honorees include a chief engineer who won for his project management of relocating, in just a month, an AP bureau when it came under a security threat in the middle of a war zone; a product manager who conceptualized and monetized his idea of a rich-media ad product that allows advertisers to create banner ads with the power of embedded AP news; a top stories editor singled out for his deft touch in both editing and mentoring in AP's Washington, D.C., bureau; a photographer considered a backbone of AP's operation in Gaza; and three scholarship winners.

The awards, established in 1994, are given annually to staff members whose work and initiative contribute significantly to the news report and to overall AP operations.

The awards are named after Oliver S. Gramling, the AP newsman and executive who is credited with developing AP's first radio wire in 1941. Gramling bequeathed his estate to the AP when he died in 1992, directing that it be used for AP staff members nominated for excellence by their colleagues.

A committee of AP managers selected the winners.

This year's winners:

-- $10,000 Gramling Journalism Awards: John O'Connor, statehouse reporter, Springfield, Ill., won for repeatedly breaking news by digging through documents and by building relationships with sources. His stories became campaign issues, inspired editorials, forced changes in policy and prompted legislators to act. New York-based photographer Julie Jacobson, most recently working as an embed in Afghanistan, for her global and topical versatility and for embracing new video storytelling techniques while continuing to be a top performer with the still camera.

-- $10,000 Gramling Achievement Awards: Baghdad chief engineer Thair al-Jassim for his hands-on project management of relocating the AP Baghdad bureau when it came under security threat in September 2009, and for achieving the relocation in just a month in the middle of a war zone. New York-based Global Director of Entertainment Products Michael Dutton for creating and monetizing Banner News, his idea of a rich-media advertising product that allows advertisers to create banner ads using embedded AP news in the form of a ticker and teasers to enhance and support messaging.

-- $3,000 Gramling Spirit Awards: Washington, D.C.-based Robert Furlow for his superb guidance to newcomers and veterans alike as top stories editor in the bureau with a steady, no-drama demeanor under demanding deadlines that makes him a favorite even with staff members who don't typically welcome having an editor meddle with their copy. Hatem Moussa, a staff photographer in the Gaza Strip, for inspiring his colleagues with his devotion to work and his enduring enthusiasm despite great hardship in one of the world's most volatile hotspots.

-- $3,000 Gramling Scholarship Awards: Feilding Cage, Scott Janis and Michelle L. Johnson. New York-based Cage, an interactive designer in AP's Interactive Design and Graphics department, will apply his award to classes focused on mobile media and strategy at New York University, where he is enrolled in a master's program. Systems Integration Manager Janis of AP's Sales Operations unit at headquarters will enroll in programming classes designed to help enhance AP's product mapping tool, which he developed. Chicago-based newsperson Johnson of AP's Central Regional Desk plans to enroll in a food history course at Kendall College to augment her beat reporting expertise with AP's national agriculture team.