Lucy Morgan, a former capitol bureau chief for the St. Petersburg Times, recently was a guest instructor at the University of West Florida. WUWF’s Dave Dunwoody sat down with her to discuss her nearly half-century as an investigative journalist.
Morgan, 73, began her career at the Ocala Star Banner in 1965, then moved to the St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times) in 1968.
In 1985, Morgan and Jack Reed shared the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for their coverage of corruption in the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. She was the first woman to win a Pulitzer in that category.
In another case in 1973, she was convicted of contempt for refusing to disclose a confidential source. Three years later, the conviction was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court and led to a law which allows reporters to protect their sources’ identities.
Morgan was a Pulitzer finalist in 1982 for her stories on drug trafficking in north-central Florida. She was elevated to the Times’ Capital Bureau Chief in 1986, moving to Tallahassee, and later worked as a columnist and on special projects for the newspaper.
A 2012 All Things Considered profile described Lucy Morgan as “an institution in Florida". Seven years after her first announced retirement, she resumed her active reporting career. In January 2013 she entered semi-retirement.
In 2005, the Florida State Senate renamed its press gallery in Lucy Morgan’s honor. The following year, she was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame.
(Information from Wikipedia)
