03/09/07

Helen O'Neill returns to AP as national writer

NEW YORK -- Helen O'Neill, an award-winning reporter for The Associated Press, is returning to the AP as a national writer.

O'Neill left in 2004 to pursue personal interests; her return was announced March 9 by Jerry Schwartz, editor of AP NewsFeatures.

O'Neill first became a national writer in 1997 and was responsible for many memorable stories, including a four-part serial on the kidnapping of a Wisconsin grandmother, the story of a single father facing death from Lou Gehrig's disease, and the tale of a woman who tended the flowers brought to grieving firefighters after Sept. 11.

Among the honors she has received are the Batten Medal, the American Society of Newspaper Editors Award for non-deadline writing and the Ernie Pyle Award.

In 2001, she was named a special correspondent by the AP.

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Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720