Denis Paquin named National Sports Photo Editor for The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Denis Paquin has been appointed National Sports Photo Editor for The Associated Press, a new position, based at New York headquarters. Paquin is a seasoned photojournalist who has international experience with a variety of news organizations as a photographer, photo editor and photo manager.

The appointment was announced by AP Director of Photography Santiago Lyon, who said creation of the new post is a reflection of the news cooperative’s new emphasis on addressing the growing demand from its members and subscribers for more visual sports content to meet the needs of their readers, listeners, viewers and online audience.

“Denis brings a wealth of experience, both as a photographer, an editor and a leader to this important role and I’m confident he will further enhance and improve our national sports photo report,” said Lyon.

As National Sports Photo Editor, Paquin is responsible for directing, developing and enhancing sports-photo coverage in the United States. That includes planning, assigning and executing coverage in the U.S. and working with Canadian Press to coordinate coverage in North America.

Before taking on his new role this week, Paquin had been the administrative photo editor for the AP in Chicago. Prior to returning to the AP in 2004, after a five-year absence, Paquin helped launch a new Canadian national newspaper, the National Post. He was director of photography for the Toronto-based newspaper. Previous to that stint, he was AP’s senior photo editor for Asia, based in Tokyo, and was a staff photographer in Washington, D.C., and in London, where he first joined the AP in 1991. He was employed by Reuters News Service in London and in Hong Kong after starting out in the news business as a photographer for United Press International in New York in 1980.

Paquin’s recent assignments at events around the world have included being a team leader and editor at the Olympics in Greece and Italy, the World Cup in Germany, PGA championships, the Masters, the Ryder Cup, Super Bowls, the World Series, the NCAA Final Four, the NBA finals and the Kentucky Derby. Over the course of his career, he has covered a dozen Olympics and five World Cup soccer tournaments.