Megan Zahneis, a senior at Miami University of Ohio, has won The Chronicle’s 2018 David W. Miller Award for Young Journalists, which is presented annually to the top intern who worked at The Chronicle during the previous year.
The $3,000 award, now in its 16th year, recognizes Zahneis for articles she wrote during her internship this past summer. In selecting her, the award committee cited her willingness to take on reporting challenges, her intellectual curiosity and ability to translate complex ideas and situations into compelling stories, and her commitment to fairness and accuracy.
One article nearly fell through several times as sources changed their minds about whether they would consent to be interviewed.
A story about a controversy involving the national general secretary of the fraternity Delta Phi Epsilon, “No ‘Frasorority’ for Him,” originated from a tip and nearly fell through several times as sources changed their minds about whether they would consent to be interviewed. Zahneis refused to give up, talking to a dozen current and former Delta Phi Epsilon members and obtaining emails sent by the general secretary.
In “How a Decades-Old Experiment Sparked a War Over the Future of Psychology,” Zahneis examined how revelations about the famous Stanford Prison Experiment were not only forcing its star researcher, Philip G. Zimbardo, to defend his reputation, but also fueling a larger controversy about the very legitimacy of social psychology. Through careful reporting and research, Zahneis wove together the tales of the original experiment, the motivations behind recent investigations into it, and the personal and professional reckonings that resulted.
Collaborating with Jack Stripling, a senior writer at The Chronicle, Zahneis was instrumental in producing “The Big Lie,” another story for which the committee honored her. To report the case of a chemistry professor who had destroyed his career by fabricating an outside job offer, Zahneis obtained 475 pages of public records, and, with Stripling, conducted a seven-hour, in-person interview with the professor.
It was so expansive; it had so many tentacles.
Reached by phone in Ohio, she said that article was her biggest challenge. “It was so expansive; it had so many tentacles,” she said. “I was very interested to see how we could possibly cover all of this in a compelling way that wouldn’t bog down the reader.”
A double major in journalism and interactive media studies, Zahneis is editor in chief of The Miami Student Magazine, which features long-form journalism, and chief copy editor at The Miami Student, a newspaper.
Zahneis will graduate in May and is applying for internships, fellowships, and journalism graduate school. Someday, she said, she would love to be an editor and eventually teach journalism.
“To be able to carry on Mr. Miller’s legacy and to have this honor is truly amazing,” she said.
The Miller Award commemorates David W. Miller, a senior writer at The Chronicle who was killed in 2002 by a drunken driver while returning home from a reporting trip. Miller, who was 35, left a wife and two young children.
In presenting the award, The Chronicle seeks to identify promising young journalists who exemplify the traits and values that Miller brought to his journalism: a passion for people and ideas, a commitment to strong writing, and a dedication to balance and fairness.