MON., JULY 22, 2024 — This month, the PBS investigative series FRONTLINE, produced at GBH in Boston, welcomes the 2024-25 reporting fellow from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, Kristina Abovyan.

In its second year, this 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.

Abovyan joins FRONTLINE’s newsroom after graduating with a master’s degree in journalism focusing on reporting, editing and investigative journalism.

Abovyan recently finished a fellowship with ABC News in Washington, D.C., and previously reported locally for a digital-first publication in Missouri for over a year, covering social justice issues.

While in graduate school, Abovyan worked on a five-month investigative story about funeral contract fraud that ultimately revealed a patchwork of regulations across 35 states. Her reporting was part of “Dead Wrong,” a larger project about the funeral industry with NYCity News Service.

Over the next year, Abovyan 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.

“This fellowship brings together so many of the skills that students at the Missouri School of Journalism can acquire, from documentary film work to investigative journalism,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “Kristina has put so much hard work into honing those skills through on-the-job experience, and I can’t wait to see her excel at FRONTLINE.”

“We’re so pleased to continue our fellowship with the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism and look forward to seeing how Kristina’s investigative journalism experience and passion for documentary storytelling can support our established film teams,” says Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE. “We’re grateful to Jonathan Murray through The Murray/Reese Foundation, and the Missouri School of Journalism for their generous support of 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 an Academy Award® as well as every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 106 Emmy Awards and 34 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.

Press Contact:
Anne Husted, Associate Director of Publicity, Communications & Awards | frontlinemedia@wgbh.org