Times critic Deggans receives NABJ A&E Task Force Legacy Award

Tampa Bay Times TV/media critic Eric Deggans on Thursday was selected by the National Association of Black Journalists Arts & Entertainment Task Force as the recipient of its 2013 Legacy Award.

The national award honors veteran A&E journalists who are at the top of their careers and have set an example for other journalists, according to task force chair Kelley L. Carter.

Deggans, 47, joined the Times in 1995 as pop music critic and has covered TV and media for 17 years. His book, Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation, was published in October by Palgrave Macmillan.

Carter said this year's selection committee was impressed by Deggans' career, as well as the success of Race-Baiter and how his national TV and radio appearances surrounding it "have inspired heartfelt conversations."

"We couldn't think of a better A&E journalist to honor this year," she said.

Past recipients of the NABJ A&E Task Force Legacy Award include the late John H. Johnson, founder of the Johnson Publishing Co., and Lynn Norment, former managing editor at Ebony magazine.

Deggans will be recognized in August during a Task Force Honors reception at the NABJ convention in Orlando.