May 13, 2015

Amtrak Crash
The Associated Press | The New York Times

Jim Gaines, a video software architect for The Associated Press, died after an Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia that killed at least six people and injured more than 200.

The AP reports that Gaines is a father of two who was on his way back home after attending meetings in Washington, D.C. According to the AP, his work was recognized by the news cooperative multiple times.

Gaines joined the AP in 1998 and was a key factor in nearly all of the news agency’s video initiatives, including a service providing live video to hundreds of clients worldwide.

Gaines won AP’s “Geek of the Month” award in May 2012 for his “tireless dedication and contagious passion” to technological innovation.

He was part of a team that won the AP Chairman’s Prize in 2006 for developing the agency’s Online Video Network.

Gaines wasn’t the only AP staffer involved in the derailment Tuesday evening. Paul Cheung, director of interactive and digital news production at The AP, tweeted a photo after the incident.

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Benjamin Mullin was formerly the managing editor of Poynter.org. He also previously reported for Poynter as a staff writer, Google Journalism Fellow and Naughton Fellow,…
Benjamin Mullin

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