She posted bail , but the case dragged on for years , with the threat of prison looming . Finally , in 1976 , the late Talbot “ Sandy ” d ’ Alemberte , who later became president of Florida State University ( 1994- 2003 ), took Morgan ’ s appeal to the Florida Supreme Court . In a major victory for First Amendment rights , the state ’ s highest court overturned lower court rulings against Morgan and expanded press privileges to protect confidential sources .
In 1982 , Morgan ’ s series on drug smuggling in Dixie County earned her a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Local Reporting . In the mid- 1980s , along with colleague Jack Reed , Morgan investigated corruption in the Pasco County Sheriff ‘ s Office , resulting in a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting ( 1985 ), the first in this category awarded to a woman . A year later , Morgan became St . Petersburg Times Capital Bureau Chief in Tallahassee , a position she held for 20 years until her retirement in 2006 . She was also a member of the board of directors of the Times Publishing Company , parent of the Tampa Bay Times .
Morgan became legendary for using her pen to keep state politicians honest . She reported on what she called the “ Taj Mahal scandal ,” where , at the last minute , legislators slipped a $ 30 million + appropriation for a palatial courthouse for the First District Court of Appeals into an unrelated transportation bill . Of her long tenure as Capital Bureau Chief , Morgan said , “ I went from looking at drug smugglers and public corruption and organized crime into state government and politics . Somehow , it seems like a natural transition . The drug smugglers were more candid than the state officials .”
Eventually , many of those officials became friends ; Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush among them . “ Lucy was the gold standard as a journalist ,” Bush told the Tampa Bay Times . “ She was tough but fair .” She earned the respect of politicians , who named the Senate Press Gallery after her . She was also inducted into the Florida Newspaper Hall of Fame and the Florida Women ’ s Hall of Fame .
After her death , tributes poured in from other women journalists whom she had mentored . Florida State University English Professor , author and columnist Diane Roberts calls Morgan , “ the most fearless person I ’ ve known .” Roberts , who earned a Ph . D . from Oxford
Lucy Morgan , center , shares the limelight with President Emerita Katherine M . Johnson , Ed . D ., and American Association of Community College ’ s Director Walter Bumphas as she receives the National Distinguished Alumna of the Year Award .
University in England , became one of Morgan ’ s “ girls ,” to whom she dispensed “ great advice on reporting and writing ,” helping them find work , leads and recognition in a male-dominated environment . “ Her kindness was epic ,”
says Roberts .
Roberts recalls that Morgan “ once helped me get access to the powerful in Florida ” because “ no one dared tell her no .” Having a nose for relationships between legislators and lobbyists that might hurt the public interest , Morgan regularly attended the annual invitation-only Associated Industries of Florida pre-legislative session party , described by Roberts as “ an absolute orgy of fancy food and fancy booze where lobbyists slipped campaign contribution checks to lawmakers .” It was the lobbyists ’ last chance to let their money talk . The next day , when the legislative session began , campaign fundraising was not allowed . Roberts , who was planning a column about the party , wanted to attend but lacked an invitation . Enter Morgan , who solved the problem by bringing Roberts along as her guest . Roberts remembers “ eating good Gulf shrimp and taking notes ” while “ Lucy laughed the whole time .”
After her retirement in 2006 , Morgan continued working as a senior correspondent for the Tampa Bay Times . From 2018 until March of this year , she also wrote numerous short , candid “ commentary ” pieces for the Florida Phoenix . The last two posted on the publication ’ s website mourn the loss , one by one , of “ Florida ’ s lions ”—“ men and women who helped Florida become a decent place to live .” Now Lucy Morgan , lioness of investigative journalism , joins those about whom she wrote . They will be missed , she said . So , too , will the peerless Lucy Morgan .
SPRING 2024 15