Oscar-Winning Producer and Editor-in-Chief Raney Aronson-Rath Leads Editorial and Digital Strategy in the “Fight for Facts”
History Series Joins NOVA and FRONTLINE in New Documentary Unit at GBH
Boston, Mass. (Apr. 30, 2026) — GBH, America’s leading multi-platform creator for public media, today announced that AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is launching new content on social media platforms and YouTube and new multi-episode specials for PBS on broadcast and streaming.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, the renowned history documentary series, has joined FRONTLINE, the acclaimed investigative journalism brand, and NOVA, America’s most popular science program, as one powerhouse documentary film unit at GBH under the leadership of award-winning FRONTLINE Executive Producer and Editor-in-Chief Raney Aronson-Rath.
“Public media organizations must accelerate innovation in both our storytelling and our delivery immediately,” said Susan Goldberg, President and CEO of GBH. “By evolving these distinguished brands for a digital-first world, we are ensuring that fact-based journalism, science, and history continue to be accessible and find new audiences on every screen.”
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE’s reimagined model includes premiering new series each season – with each being a multi-episode deep dive into a singular topic. The first of these, in 2027, will be Lindbergh, on the life and complex legacy of the aviator Charles Lindbergh.
Upcoming broadcast and streaming will also feature fan favorites about the Woodstock music festival, presidential portraits of George H. W. Bush and John F. Kennedy, and the American West, starting this May.
In addition to the long-form series, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE will produce digital-first documentaries and history shorts designed to give audiences greater understanding and context on the world we live in today.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE’S new digital content, already beginning to roll out, includes:
- Documentaries and a series of archival interviews with iconic people on YouTube
- A TikTok channel @americanexperiencepbs
- Original short-form videos, including a series marking America’s 250th anniversary, across social media platforms
“We’re in a fight for facts. The ability to broaden our audiences – from mobile to the big screen – and help provide context in a complex world has never been more urgent, especially for young people,” said Aronson-Rath. “We want to make our deep, fact-based storytelling as accessible and interactive as the world around us, ensuring that essential truth remains at the heart of the digital conversation.”
Aronson-Rath, the executive producer of FRONTLINE since 2015, has been a powerful voice for the importance of trusted news and information and a pioneer in growing media brands online. 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 multi-platform journalism organization committed to uncovering vital stories and telling them in new ways.
FRONTLINE FEATURES, launched in 2025 in an effort to bring cinematic documentaries to theaters and global festivals before streaming and airing on PBS, premiered One in a Million this year, winning the Sundance Festival’s World Cinema Documentary Audience and Directing Award. FRONTLINE is also growing its popular YouTube channel, and expanding connections with young audiences through its For the Record digital reporting.
FRONTLINE has won every major award in broadcast journalism under Aronson-Rath’s leadership; she recently received the 2026 President’s Award from The Overseas Press Club of America.
NOVA, on a mission to become the most popular science brand on the internet, has had exponential growth online. Its popular YouTube channel has grown 70 percent last year; its digital video views reached 335 million views in 2025. NOVA also has fans on TikTok and its popular podcast, Particles of Thought, launches Season 2 in June. This fall, NOVA will premiere a five-part series Evolution, a dazzling look at life on Earth.
About GBH
GBH is the leading multi platform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. GBH is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and ARTHUR and MOLLY OF DENALI and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. GBH’s television channels include GBH 2, GBH 44, GBH Kids and national services GBH WORLD and Create. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; CRB Classical 99.5; CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station, and as a partner to NEPM in Springfield. Dedicated to making media accessible to and representative of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to audience members who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. With PBS LearningMedia, GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide. GBH’s local programming includes Boston Public Radio, GBH News Rooted, Stories from the Stage, The Culture Show, The Curiosity Desk, and High School Quiz Show. GBH has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at gbh.org.
About AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
For nearly four decades and across more than 300 films, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE has taken viewers on an epic journey— one chronicling human triumph and adventure, spectacular technological advances, cultural milestones, and political highs and lows. In 2026, alongside encore broadcasts and streaming of some of the series’ seminal films, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is experimenting with new formats on YouTube and TikTok. With digital-first, fact-based content, the series will bring its signature and award-winning storytelling to a new generation of history fans, giving them greater understanding and context of the world we live in today.
