BOSTON, MA, Oct. 17, 2022 — The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the nonprofit arm of the National Press Club, has named the PBS documentary series FRONTLINE the recipient of the 2022 Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism.

According to the Journalism Institute’s site, the award, which is named for acclaimed journalists Neil and Susan Sheehan,  “recognizes work that best reflects the Sheehans’ extraordinary commitment to the principle that a vibrant democracy depends on an informed citizenry and a free press.” 

This year’s award specifically honors FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative. Since FRONTLINE began the initiative in 2019, the news organization, which is based at GBH in Boston, has partnered with regional newsrooms around the country, supporting reporting teams in producing high-impact investigative journalism that probes critical local issues. The initiative, which has supported award-winning local reporting such as the Tampa Bay Times’ Pulitzer Prize, George Polk and NABJ Award-winning “Poisoned” series, is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“We are pleased to recognize FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative for providing essential support to news outlets struggling to provide essential watchdog journalism. This helps ensure that local reporters have the time and resources to hold the powerful to account,” said National Press Club Journalism Institute president Gil Klein. 

“For the past three years, we’ve seen our Local Journalism Initiative bolster incredible local and regional news organizations, and aid in the nationwide dissemination of their accountability reporting,” said FRONTLINE editor-in-chief and executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath. “We are honored to see this initiative recognized by the National Press Club with the Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for investigative journalism.” 

“Local news is a vital part of our nation’s journalistic ecosystem, and we’re proud to see the impact of our local journalism partners’ reporting reverberate — sparking national conversation and, in some cases, calls for policy change,” Aronson-Rath added. “We share this award with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, whose generous support has made our Local Journalism Initiative possible.” 

Past recipients of the Sheehan Award have included The New York Times‘ Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for their Harvey Weinstein reporting, The Marshall Project for its criminal justice coverage, and the Miami Herald‘s Julie K. Brown for her Jeffrey Epstein reporting.

Earlier this year, the National Press Club recognized two FRONTLINE documentaries with 2022 National Press Club Journalism Awards. FRONTLINE’s January 2021 documentary A Thousand Cuts was honored with the NPC’s Arthur E. Rowse Award for Excellence in Examining The News Media (Broadcast), and Massacre in El Salvador, FRONTLINE’s November 2021 documentary in partnership with Retro Report and ProPublica won the NPC’s Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence, for excellence in foreign affairs reporting. 

According to the NPC Journalism Institute’s award announcement, the NPC is “the world’s leading professional organization for journalists, representing more than 3,000 reporters, editors and professional communicators worldwide.” The affiliated Journalism Institute “promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy,” the organization’s announcement said. 

The NPC will award FRONTLINE with the 2022 Sheehan Award at the Journalism Institute’s annual Fourth Estate Award Gala on Dec. 7. You can explore reporting from FRONTLINE’s award-winning Local Journalism Initiative partners here. 

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Press Contact:
Anne Husted, Manager, PR & Communication | FRONTLINE (PBS)
617.300.5312 | frontlinemedia@wgbh.org