Alan C. Miller (born March 5, 1954) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and the founder of the News Literacy Project, a national education nonprofit that works with educators and journalists to offer resources and tools that help middle school and high school students learn to separate fact from fiction. In 2020, NLP expanded its audience to include people of all ages.

Early life

Born in New York City to Martin and Anita Miller (urbanist), Miller was raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey. In 1976, he received a bachelor's degree in English from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Wesleyan considers him one of its "notable alumni." He received a master's degree in political science in 1978 from the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and was a student participant at the

East-West Center East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...

's Communication Institute. During his post-graduate studies he was an intern in the Tokyo bureau of ''The Washington Post''.

Career

Miller was a reporter for '' The Times Union'' in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

, and '' The Record'' in Hackensack, New Jersey, before joining the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' in 1987. Seven years later he became a member of the ''Times''' investigative team in Washington. During his career, he received more than a dozen national journalism awards, including for reports on illegal foreign contributions to Democratic candidates (the 1996

George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...

, the 1997 National Headliner Award for Investigative Reporting and the 1997

Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting The Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting is an award for journalists administered by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The program was launched in 1991, with the goal of exposing examples of ...

) and for "The Vertical Vision," a series, written with

Kevin Sack Kevin Sack, an American journalist, is a senior reporter for ''The New York Times''. Sack shared a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2001 for a ''New York Times'' series on race. While at The Los Angeles Times, he received the 2003 Pulitzer ...

, about the dangers of the Marine Corps'

McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...

jet (the 2002

Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...

Medal, the 2003

Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs in the United States. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting – National. Li ...

and the 2003 Associated Press Managing Editors Association Public Service Award). In 2006, he was invited to tell the sixth-grade classes at his daughter's school in Bethesda, Maryland, about his work as a journalist. The 175 thank-you notes he received led him to consider the impact that journalists could have in the classroom. Two years later he left the ''Times'' and founded the News Literacy Project. Miller has served on the advisory board of Stony Brook University's Center for News Literacy and the board of the

American Society of News Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of ...

. He was a fellow at the Japan Society in 1998 and the Peter Jennings Project at the

National Constitution Center The National Constitution Center is a non-profit institution devoted to the Constitution of the United States. On Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the center is an interactive museum and a national town hall for constitutional dia ...

in 2008. He has spoken at a number of colleges and universities and has appeared on panels sponsored by the

Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy is a group of 17 American media, policy and community leaders formed to assess the information needs of communities in the United States in the 21st Century, and recommend ...

, the

International Center for Journalists International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is a non-profit, professional organization located in Washington, D.C., United States, that promotes journalism worldwide. Since 1984, the International Center for Journalists has worked directly with ...

, the

National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...

, and Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. Washingtonian magazine named him a Washingtonian of the Year in December 2020. In October 2021 he was named one of five recipients of the 2022 AARP Purpose Prize, awarded to people age 50 and older "who use their knowledge and life experience to solve challenging social problems." The East-West Center presented him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in June 2022. Miller retired as CEO of the News Literacy Project on June 30, 2022.

Journalism awards

*1981 New York State Publishers State Government Coverage Award of Excellence *1996

for Political Reporting, ''Los Angeles Times'', "Money From Asia" *1997 National Headliner Award for Investigative Reporting, ''Los Angeles Times'', "Money From Asia" *1997

, ''Los Angeles Times'', "Illegal Democratic Campaign Contributions" *2002

Medal, "The Vertical Vision" *2003

, "The Vertical Vision" *2003 Associated Press Managing Editors Association Public Service Award *2005 (second place) John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, "Environmental Politics" *2008

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

Consumer Journalism Award, "Danger in Tow" *2008 National Headliner Award for Investigative Reporting (third place), "Danger in Tow"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Alan American male journalists Wesleyan University alumni George Polk Award recipients Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners Living people Los Angeles Times people 1954 births