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The New York Times Application
Photography Fellow

         For: The Associated Press                  Published: May 19, 2025

A Delaware animal shelter is trying to care for and rehome thousands of chicks that survived being left in a postal service truck for three days. Trapped in a warm enclosure, without food and water, thousands died before they were discovered.

RESPONSIBILITIES: RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, videography and video editing, reporting, news writing, pitched story,


         For: The Associated Press                  Published: November 6, 2025

The latest round of exhumations of Native American students from a cemetery at the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania resulted in the remains of 17 students being repatriated to their families and tribes, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. Most details about the lives they lived are lost to history, but records offer glimpses into their experiences at Carlisle.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, videography and video editing, assigned story

      For: The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com       Published: May 3, 2023

For this assignment, I was requested to photograph the match and pay particular attention to Greenway Demons star Kaitlyn Terry (5), who had committed to play softball for UCLA.​​

 

My photography internship with The Arizona Republic exposed me to sports photography. Previously, I had never photographed, attended, or even watched a ranked sports game. It was an enjoyable experience learning about a sport while photographing it for an assignment.

While seeking inspiration for my fellowship application, I photographed a friendly softball match between News 3 and Fox 5. Sadly, the competing station trounced us. Furthermore, my more casual approach to photography left me disappointed in the resulting photos.

 

Thinking back on my last softball shoot, I decided to display the gallery as one of my work samples. Photos with "REVISED-" are photos that were not submitted for the original story and edited after the fact. I had kept those photos for my sports portfolio.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, day-turn, assigned story


          For: KSNV News 3        Published: July 9, 2024          

During an unprecedented streak of seven 115-degree days, Harry Reid International Airport recorded the city’s hottest day at 120 degrees on July 7, 2024.

 

I spent an afternoon, in 118-degree heat, capturing heatwave stock photography for our newsroom on July 9, 2024.

 

Shattering the previous record of 25, the city experienced 43 consecutive days of 105-degree or hotter weather. During this period, I reported on and visually captured heat-related stories. I asked the growing homeless population of Las Vegas how they were handling the record heat. I looked at Henderson Fire Departments' new cooling pods that immerse heat victims in cool water. I discovered that drought-tolerant plants are not heat-tolerant. I traveled to Valley of Fire State Park to learn why summer hiking rescues are difficult for first responders. I spoke with food vendors who braved the heat while new ordinances regulated their operations. I used an infrared thermometer to measure burn-inducing, surface temperatures of outdoor surfaces. Despite record-shattering heat waves, Las Vegas was still carrying on, but even desert dwellers had to adapt.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, reporting, news writing, graphic design, digital production, pitched story, day-turn, social graphics, stock photography


          For: KSNV New 3                     Published: April 27, 2024

Dr. Navkaran Singh, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center, said he often recommends the activity to his patients.

“Yoga exercises are great because they’re really about that core process, getting the core stronger,” said Singh.

Singh said that yoga's slower movements set it apart from other exercises. Weight changes during pregnancy lead to more sensitive joints, so exercises that are less traumatic to the joints are more favorable.

 

In addition to my MMJ responsibilities at KSNV News 3, I also designed social graphics and implemented new storytelling processes for our coverage. This was my first photostory design for the station.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, videography and video editing, reporting, news writing, graphic design, digital production, pitched story, day-turn, social video editing, social graphics


          Photos For: News21                      Published: August 1, 2023

My colleagues (writers) and I covered the Ohio ballot box battle as both sides of the abortion debate mobilized to decide whether abortion would be protected in Ohio's state constitution. I contributed as a photographer and video journalist simultaneously.

America After Roe Recognition and Awards

  • Grand Prize - RFK Journalism Awards

  • Collaborative Journalism - SPJ Mark of Excellence Nationals

  • 2 Telly Awards, 1 Webby Award, 3 EPPY Awards and another RFK Journalism Award

Individual Award - College Media Association Film and Audio Festival 

  • Second place in the long documentary category

RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, videography and video editing, some reporting, assigned story

additional work

With our graphics department occupied with television graphics, I was the lone agent tasked with digital and social graphics during election season. During this period, I wrote text stories and developed graphics for our social and digital platforms.

I processed everything from photo collage thumbnails to voter turnout data visualizations during election season.

 ​

RESPONSIBILITIES: Graphic design, digital production, reporting, news writing, day turns,

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After dozens of hours of interviews over two months, I produced a two-part investigation into the chaotic nature of a MrBeast Las Vegas production.

News 3 spoke with nearly two dozen people involved in the ‘Beast Games’ production, many under the condition of anonymity due to non-disclosure agreements, to learn more about how poor management of local production staff led to the chaos, disorganization and safety issues revealed in our previous News 3 investigation—and even a class action lawsuit.


Production staff and set medics, many of whom were Las Vegas-based, told News 3 that they have worked on various productions in and outside of Nevada. Across their years and decades of experience, they have contributed to box-office hits with big-name celebrities, large-scale reality TV series and other YouTube productions. As locals, they would often recognize each other from previous projects.

They all shared similar sentiments about the MrBeast affiliated production they worked on.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Investigative reporting, news writing, graphic design, digital production

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The Voices Listening Project (VLP) researched community news needs and deficiencies in new communications. Our data and interviews showed the importance of UI/UX for information delivery and how our communication weaknesses have affected public perception of journalistic news media. After our community surveys and interviews, we prototyped and evaluated product solutions.

I brainstormed several ideas, including story hubs, AI-focused search responses/news assistants and explanatory tooltips. We decided to move forward with a tooltip function as one of our products because of its more straightforward design. That function was the most well-received product solution among testers.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Research, interviews, data analysis, product development, community surveys

ABout me

Mingson Lau is a multimedia reporter and graduate student at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Through visuals and writing, Lau aims to tell impactful stories that can inform, elucidate, and engage. Lau found his passion for storytelling in his high school’s award-winning broadcast journalism program, where he contributed to the morning news show and projects for Vegas PBS’ Inside Education. 

 

At Arizona State University, Lau continued to develop his skills by working/interning at The State Press, Arizona PBS, Arizona Schools Board Association, and Cronkite News. Lau also has worked as a research aide for the Voices Listening Project, studying media needs of local communities and developing product solutions to improve news communication.

 

Currently, Lau is a visual intern with The Arizona Republic and a fellow in the Carnegie-Knight News21 program. When Lau is not working on a story or preparing for classes, you can find him making sushi at Japanese restaurants across Tempe.

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About Me

Mingson Lau is a visual storyteller at The Associated Press, with experience in video, photo, text, and graphic design. Passionate about storytelling, Lau writes to communicate informative, elucidating, and engaging news.


During his time at Arizona State University, Lau earned his degrees while working at The State Press, Arizona PBS, the Arizona School Boards Association, and Cronkite News. Lau has also worked as a research aide for the Voices Listening Project, studying the media needs of local communities and developing product solutions to improve news communication.​​ Lau continued his college experience by working as a photography intern with The Arizona Republic and as a visuals fellow in the Carnegie-Knight News21 program. 
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Prior to The Associated Press, the Nevada native worked as a digital reporter with NBC News 3 Las Vegas. He reported, filmed, and edited broadcast, social, and digital videos. To bolster the station's digital storytelling, he designed and implemented new processes involving social graphics, still photography, and other web elements. This included new workflows to provide live coverage through digital-focused, field-produced photos, graphics, articles, and video. And, as the station's only still news photographer, he supplemented his stories with robust photo galleries and contributed file photography for digital use.​

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Email: mlau@ap.org

Claymont, Delaware

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