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Part of the series “Women, Leadership and Vision”
I’ve been an avid fan of PBS for many years, and have deeply admired and appreciated the top-level investigative journalism they offer. I was thrilled then to catch up recently with Raney Aronson-Rath who is now Executive Producer of Frontline, PBS’ flagship investigative journalism series, and is a leading voice on the future of journalism. She has been internationally recognized for her work to expand Frontline’s reporting capacity and reimagine the documentary form across multiple platforms.
Raney shares with me her vision for the future of Frontline, as well as the mentorship she’s received to help catapult her growth in documentary filmmaking and journalism.
Kathy Caprino: What’s it like to be the first-ever new executive producer of Frontline?
Raney Aronson-Rath: It's an extraordinary experience and an honor. Over the last number of years, I was given the gift of time to build a strong senior team and reorganize our staff so that by the time I became Executive Producer I was able to transition effectively with all of them at my side. It all came with many years of experience and mentoring by our founder and now Executive Producer at Large David Fanning.
Caprino: You had a very public apprenticeship with David Fanning, who created and then led PBS’ Frontline for more than 30 years. How did having a mentor shape your career and impact how you run Frontline today as the new executive producer?
Aronson-Rath: The impact has been immeasurable. My mentorship with David started in a New York City edit room as I was making on my own documentaries for Frontline. He's a gifted storyteller and filmmaker, and I could tell right away I was learning from one of the best. I consider the many years I produced Frontline documentaries as the essential building blocks of my success. Then, when I joined Frontline’s in-house staff as a senior producer, I spent years in a different role with David, learning the craft of fixing films – essentially being an editor of other filmmakers’ work. My role in the series expanded over the years with his encouragement, and I began to lead many of our digital efforts and develop new, collaborative models of journalistic filmmaking. The transition to running the news organization occurred organically: Early on, David included me as he made major decisions in both the editorial and senior management realms, and as the years went on, I started to make those big decisions as well. David’s mentorship wasn’t scripted in any way. He taught me by example in all aspects of running Frontline. I also had another wonderful mentor in PBS’ President Paula Kerger. Throughout my career, she has always been a source of sound advice. I admire and respect her forward-thinking on behalf of public media.
Caprino: How do you suggest my readers go about finding a mentor to help guide them in their careers?
Aronson-Rath: It all starts with the profound work of figuring out what your calling is. Mine was clear: I was a journalist, and I wanted to make long-form documentaries. I worked hard to learn as much as possible about the industry in the early years of my career, starting as an entry level production assistant and seizing chances to learn about every part of the production process. I believe in hard work and always volunteered to do more — something that has served me well. I believe finding an authentic and rewarding mentorship starts with you: knowing who you are, and being someone an important and accomplished person wants to mentor.
The gold standard for the type of work I wanted to produce was Frontline, and I aspired to make films for them from very early in my career. So I took action: I would literally study every single Frontline documentary as it aired, trying to understand the narrative choices, the storytelling style and the depth of the journalism. My dedication to this type of filmmaking was very clear to David early on, and I think that’s part of why his mentorship of me was so fruitful. Now, I try to play a similar role with up-and-coming journalists and filmmakers who display inquisitiveness, passion and drive about the work that Frontline does.
Caprino: What are some changes you’ve made to Frontline and how/why did you feel empowered to change an already successful television program?
Aronson-Rath: I was brought in with the assumption I would carry Frontline’s tradition of tough, fair journalistic documentaries forward — but I would also need to help find a new generation of filmmakers, and build an audience strategy that would help Frontline thrive in the digital media landscape. Working with my remarkable colleagues at Frontline, I rose to this challenge and established our first integrated digital and audience development team many years ahead of the rest of the media industry. With Frontline’s established ethos of collaboration to guide us, I built journalistic partnerships into the core of our editorial and production strategies. Working with our creative and talented teams, we’ve transformed our digital video presence, first by launching our YouTube channel, and then by actively producing social-first videos meant to be natively published across social platforms. We’re also producing virtual reality films and interactive documentaries that innovate the form and push us all forward. We have grown our audience substantially with these efforts, and I’ve had a remarkable bedrock to build on. After all, David embraced digital the moment it was possible, creating some of the very first deep-content documentary websites in 1995 and streaming all new Frontline films online starting in 2000. All of our current success is built upon those early innovations that are built into our DNA as a journalism organization.
Carrying that tradition forward, my daily challenge to myself and all those around me is to continue to think creatively on behalf of Frontline and our future.
Caprino: How do you keep your loyal viewers from the 1980s and 1990s as loyal viewers as you move into the digital age?
Aronson-Rath: I have long held onto a theory that important journalism that asks big, tough questions resonates across all generations. That belief animates how we operate at all levels at Frontline, and it’s an essential reason why we are thriving with our loyal, long-standing audience as well as reaching a whole new generation. I have also encouraged and fostered a cross-generational staff across our news organization. The body of work that we produce resonates with our core audience, but we are now reaching millions of younger people, too. Both are essential for our success.
Caprino: How do you decide what Frontline covers whether it’s online, on social media or on television? What instincts guide you?
Aronson-Rath: We consider ourselves current affairs and investigative at our core, but we’re always based in powerful storytelling. Our best work always has a narrative that’s strong, surprising and fresh. We are constantly looking at what the rest of the media is doing and asking ourselves how we can add important depth and context to the conversation.
We don't think of our work as disposable. The broadcast is just the beginning, and we like to think our efforts will spark long-lasting conversations with major impact. You won't see us jump at every news story, but when we do, it's because we have something original to offer – whether it’s our on-the-ground looks at ISIS in Aghanistan, the chaos in Yemen, and the devastation in Syria; our explorations of long-dormant terrorism cold cases; our continuing reporting on the NFL and head injuries; or our investigations of sexual violence against female farmworkers and janitors.
Caprino: What’s most surprising about being a woman leader in media today?
Aronson-Rath: My biggest surprise is how many people seem genuinely surprised when they first meet me and find out that I run Frontline. I assume this has to do with the fact that few women run investigative journalism organizations. I think what’s really inspiring about being a woman leader is how many other women are joining me at the senior ranks in journalism. Just ten years ago, I couldn’t name many women who ran news organizations – but now I can, and that’s very gratifying.
Caprino: And what are you most excited about regarding the future of Frontline?
Aronson-Rath: I am inspired that Frontline will continue to be a steady, intelligent voice bringing fresh, in-depth stories to our audience everywhere they are. I am inspired by our audience’s appetite for stories that matter, and by our producers’ and staff’s passion for finding and telling those stories. We like to approach every story on a case-by-case basis, telling it in its right form, whether that’s a full-length narrative documentary, an interactive multimedia piece, a series of short films, or something completely different. And we are continuing our strong commitment to investigative journalism.
As I often say, corruption doesn’t show its face -- so we will be there to expose wrong-doing and hold governments and corporations accountable for their actions. From the Paris attacks and the spread of international terrorism, to our country’s heroin epidemic, we’ll continue to bring depth and context to the stories that shape our world. We’re lucky to have the support of PBS, WGBH and our audience as we do this demanding and essential work.
For more information, visit FRONTLINE on PBS.
To build a more rewarding career, visit KathyCaprino.com, The Amazing Career Project, and my weekly podcast Best Work/Best Life.
