Raney Aronson-Rath

Raney Aronson-Rath is the executive producer of FRONTLINE, PBS’ flagship investigative journalism series, and a leading voice on the future of journalism. Aronson-Rath oversees FRONTLINE​’s acclaimed reporting on air and online and directs the series’ editorial vision, executive producing over 20 documentaries each year on critical issues facing the country and world. Under her leadership, FRONTLINE has earned two Oscar nominations, and has won every major award in broadcast journalism, including Peabody Awards, Emmy Awards, an Institutional Peabody Award, and the first Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Gold Baton awarded in a decade. For 16 years, Aronson-Rath has served as a Livingston Awards judge honoring reporters under the age of 35 and identifying the next generation of journalism leaders.

At a time when broad skepticism of the news media has reached new highs, Aronson-Rath has cemented FRONTLINE​’s reputation as a source of trustworthy and consistent investigative journalism. She has expanded FRONTLINE’s reporting capacity, spearheaded an initiative to bolster local journalism in news deserts, and guided FRONTLINE​’s evolution from a longstanding documentary series to a timely, multi-platform journalism organization that is committed to uncovering vital stories and telling them in new ways. The New York Times described Aronson-Rath’s collaborative model for investigative journalism as ​“increasingly important … as a way to reach new viewers and produce more in-depth reports.”

Aronson-Rath has led an ongoing charge for transparency in journalism – including through the FRONTLINE Transparency Project, an effort to open up the source material behind FRONTLINE​’s reporting. She served as the sole public media representative on the Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy, a blue-ribbon panel that published a landmark report on the causes and consequences of growing distrust in democratic institutions, including the press.

For this speaker series event, Aronson-Rath will be in conversation with Lynette Clemetson, the Director of Wallace House, Knight-Wallace Fellowships and the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists at the University of Michigan. A longtime journalist, she was a correspondent for Newsweek magazine in the U.S. and Asia, a national correspondent for The New York Times, and senior director of strategy and new initiatives at NPR. Wallace House works to sustain and elevate the careers of journalists, foster civic engagement, and uphold the role of a free press in democratic society.

This program is brought to you with support from Wallace House and our series partners, Detroit Public Television and PBS Books.