Courtesy of Matt McCann
By Crow’s Nest Staff
The Crow’s Nest and reporter Nancy McCann will be honored by the Pinellas County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union for their “consistent, vigilant reporting” of campus issues.
The annual Irene Miller Vigilance in Journalism Award honors the memory of Miller, a guidance counselor at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg and former ACLU chapter president known for her commitment to civil liberties.
This is the first time the chapter’s award has ever gone to student journalists.
The award, which was established more than 20 years ago, “recognizes consistent, objective and comprehensive reporting on the actions of governments, particularly in Pinellas County and its municipalities,” the ACLU chapter says on its website.
“The award is intended for the consistent, vigilant reporting of public affairs,” the chapter says. “If citizens are to make informed decisions, such reporting is vital.”
The ACLU board unanimously selected The Crow’s Nest and McCann for their “courageous and probing coverage of recent controversies at the University of South Florida, particularly the ongoing consolidation process and the formation of a union for adjunct faculty” members, said Ray Arsenault, a USF St. Petersburg history professor and ACLU chapter president.
The paper’s staff has “upheld the highest standards of journalism” in “standing up to the pressure of the central (Tampa) administration,” Arsenault said. “We were particularly impressed by the fact that some of the most courageous journalists in the Tampa Bay area are student journalists.
“It is comforting and encouraging (for the future) that young people are upholding the highest standards of journalism.”
This is the second honor for McCann, who returned to school after a long career in local government and earned a master’s in journalism last year.
She has anchored the student newspaper’s coverage of the controversial consolidation process since the Legislature suddenly began moving to abolish the St. Petersburg campus’ separate accreditation in January 2018.
Last June, the Society of Professional Journalists named McCann the second best college news reporter in the Southeast in its annual Green Eyeshade competition.
She and Crow’s Nest editors will be saluted and given plaques at the ACLU chapter’s annual awards banquet on March 5.
Last year’s winners were four journalists at the Tampa Bay Times whose reporting uncovered a scandal in the Heart Institute at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
Other previous winners include Times journalists Mark Puente, John Romano, Lucy Morgan and Martin Dyckman, Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and Rob Lorei of community radio station WMNF.
The ACLU award comes at an uncertain time for The Crow’s Nest.
Twice in the last three years, Student Government has made big cuts in the paper’s budget, which comes out of student fee revenue.
This year’s budget is $40,256 – a 23 percent drop from $52,516 in 2018-2019.
There is also talk in the university administration of merging The Crow’s Nest with its counterpart on the Tampa campus, perhaps in an online-only format, once consolidation takes root.
The staffs of both newspapers and the journalism faculties on both campuses have announced opposition to that proposal.
Well done! Well deserved- perseverance and commitment paid off!
What a wonderful achievement for a woman who gave up a long and very successful career prior to undertaking this new direction; congratulations!
Congratulations Nancy McCann! Your reporting is informative and so well researched. You provide the community with information that would only surface from persistent research, We are all fortunate to have your dedication to factual reporting available to us through the Crows Nest .