The PBS investigative series FRONTLINE has announced a new reporting fellowship with the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri.

The year-long fellowship aims to expose new and emerging investigative journalists to FRONTLINE’s award-winning approach to documentary storytelling, immersing fellows into all phases of the series’ reporting and production process.

The inaugural FRONTLINE/Missouri School of Journalism fellow is Kelsey Rightnowar, who recently graduated with a master’s degree and an emphasis in documentary journalism.

Prior to her fellowship, which began earlier this month, Rightnowar served as a production coordinator and archival researcher for the RFK Journalism Award-winning HBO documentary Atomic Homefront, and as a production coordinator for BET News’ “Justice for Ferguson” series. While in graduate school, she contributed to multiple documentaries for the Columbia Missourian as a director, producer, editor and camera operator, and in 2022, she was selected as one of fifty students to participate in the Telluride Student Symposium at the Telluride Film Festival.

Over the next year, Rightnowar will have the opportunity to work alongside FRONTLINE’s filmmaking teams to aid in the development of the series’ acclaimed documentaries. This work will include contributing to the research and development of stories, reporting out leads, wrangling and analyzing data, helping set up interviews and shoots, as well as various tasks as documentaries undergo editing, vetting and post-production.

The FRONTLINE/Missouri School of Journalism Fellowship also offers opportunities to contribute to FRONTLINE projects on other platforms — including the series’ Local Journalism Initiative, which supports local news outlets producing investigative journalism projects, as well as pursuing and crafting shorter-turnaround digital stories for FRONTLINE’s website. 

“It’s a privilege to partner with FRONTLINE, widely recognized as the gold standard for long-form investigative journalism,” says David Kurpius, dean of the Missouri School of Journalism. “As the world’s first school of journalism, we, too, are committed to the highest standards of truth, integrity and public service.  This fellowship is an extraordinary opportunity to work together to launch the careers of talented documentary storytellers.”

“We’re thrilled to begin this new fellowship with the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, and look forward to seeing how Kelsey’s journalistic expertise and passion for documentary storytelling can support our established filmmakers,” says Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE. “We’re grateful to Jonathan Murray and the Missouri School of Journalism for their support in launching this fellowship.”

About FRONTLINE
FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 104 Emmy Awards and 31 Peabody Awards. Visit pbs.org/frontline and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more. FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

About The Missouri School of Journalism
The Missouri School of Journalism is an international leader in journalism education. Some of the best journalists in the world have learned their profession through the Missouri Method, which provides practical hands-on training at five professional news outlets and two strategic communication agencies. Students and faculty regularly earn top awards and recognitions from international, national, and other organizations.

Contact:
FRONTLINE: Anne Husted, Manager, PR & Communications | frontlinemedia@wgbh.org