Former East County sports editor named 'Journalist of the Year'

Brian McMillan, former sports editor for the East County Observer and current managing editor of the Palm Coast Observer, has been recognized as the Journalist of the Year among weekly newspapers by the Local Media Association, which includes more than 2,000 newspapers in North America.

The association’s announcement states that the criteria for the award included work that “advances public understanding of life within the communities served by the newspapers.”

The panel of judges from the Medill School of Northwestern University made the following comment about McMillan’s writing portfolio: “Excellent reporting and writing on a range of topics important to the community. A lyrical talent around whom a strong weekly newspaper can be built.”

The Local Media Association also honored a daily journalist of the year and daily and weekly editors of the year. Other first-place winners wrote for newspapers from Joplin, Mo., Bronx, N.Y., and North Andover, Mass.
McMillan was named top sports columnist in Florida in 2005 by the Florida Press Association, when he worked for the East County Observer. He earned his Masters of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction from Northern Michigan University in 2009. He has been the managing editor of the Palm Coast Observer since it was founded in February 2010.