"A pyroclastic, R-rated eruption of sulfurous invective almost blew over my computer screen as my colleagues and I tried to make sense of what was going on," writes Frankie Taggart, a correspondent based in LA.

"We were covering the biggest show business event of the year, the Oscars, and had just witnessed the earthquake announcement -- the wrong film had been named as best picture. Moonlight was due the glory instead of La La Land."

"It all made for a rather fittingly surreal denouement to a dreamlike first year in my latest AFP posting, covering the entertainment industry from our Los Angeles bureau on Sunset Boulevard."