AP out front with first word on death of country music queen Loretta Lynn

By Kristin M. Hall

When Nashville Entertainment video journalist Kristin Hall broke the stunning news of Naomi Judd’s death earlier this year, a representative for Loretta Lynn saw how Hall and AP handled the Judd obituary. Lynn’s rep then reached out to Hall, asking about AP’s obituary process — and shared that Lynn was in poor health.

That early heads-up launched Hall into motion, pulling together text and video prep, and steadily working with editors to refine and polish it.

Word of the singer’s death came Tuesday and Hall was ready working quickly to confirm details and get the news out. The result: AP’s alert moved at 10:23 a.m. EDT followed by a complete 1000-word obituary less than a minute later long before other news outlets and giving the AP a lengthy beat on a high-profile celebrity death.

Hall’s work didn’t stop there. She worked throughout the day with colleagues to get visuals of memorials in both Los Angeles and Nashville. She also worked on a follow-up that she long envisioned as a strong companion piece — a detailed look at Lynn’s “The Pill” and how it had taken on greater resonance after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

AP 22156831260844 ss — Loretta Lynn waves to the crowd after performing during the Americana Music Honors and Awards show in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2014. – AP Photo / Mark Zaleski

AP 22156830809900 ss — U.S. President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to country music legend Loretta Lynn at the White House, Nov. 20, 2013. – AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin

AP 22277676061621 ss — Flowers stand beside the plaque of Loretta Lynn at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn., after her death, Oct. 4, 2022. – AP Photo / Mark Humphrey

AP 22156826696817 ss — Country music singer Loretta Lynn points to her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during induction ceremonies in Hollywood, Calif., Feb. 8, 1978. – AP Photo

AP 22277820326645 ss — A wreath and flowers lie atop the star of late country singer Loretta Lynn on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles after her death, Oct. 4, 2022. – AP Photo / Chris Pizzello

Hall put AP well out front. Several trade sites needed 20 minutes or more to post obits and it was nearly an hour before a major music industry publication pushed its own obit to online readers. By then readers were flocking to the obit on AP News as well as on customer and member sites. The New York Times and Hollywood Reporter were among the dozens of outlets crediting AP and when The Washington Post ran the AP obit online — with Hall’s byline — it was the No. 4 most-read on their site. The scoop was immortalized on Wikipedia which cited Hall’s story as confirmation that the woman behind songs such as “You Ain’t Woman Enough” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter ” was indeed dead.

Loretta Lynn the Kentucky coal miner’s daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of poverty and made her a pillar of country music has died. She was 90. https://t.co/ATdwml7dpA

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 4 2022

Loretta Lynn the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” whose frank songs about Appalachian womanhood made her a country icon has died at age 90. https://t.co/ecIqg3bPbA pic.twitter.com/RmdBeo3H6a

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 4 2022

The obituary was AP’s most widely read story of the week and the video the most-used Entertainment video story of the week.

For outstanding sourcing and preparation that allowed AP to lead the pack on a highly competitive story Hall is AP’s Best of the Week — Second Winner.