FRONTLINE’s Storytelling Honored with Two Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards

THU., MAY 22, 2025 — The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization announced today that storytelling from FRONTLINE, the PBS investigative documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, has been honored with two 2025 RFK Journalism Awards. 

A Year of War: Israelis and Palestinians won the RFK Journalism Award in the International Television category. From director and producer Robin Barnwell and producer Toby Fitzpatrick, the documentary captures harrowing accounts from those who experienced the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the ongoing war in Gaza.

The RFK judges called A Year of War “a devastating portrait of life before and after October 7.” 

The RFK Awards also recognized The Associated Press and FRONTLINE for their joint reporting on South Korea’s foreign adoption program in the International Print category.

The reporting, led by AP reporters Kim Tong-hyung and Claire Galofaro, examined a system that sent more than 200,000 children from South Korea to the U.S. and other countries for adoption, and examined allegations of fraud and abuse during the nation’s historic foreign adoption boom through a series of articles and a digital interactive experience titled “‘Who Am I, Then?’ Stories From South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning”.

The RFK judges called FRONTLINE and AP’s reporting “a disturbing history featuring cases of stolen children, fabricated documents, and possible human rights violations.”

The recognized reporting is part of a larger FRONTLINE & AP project that included a 2024 documentary directed by Lora Moftah of Maxine Productions, titled South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning.

“We’re so pleased to see our reporting on the impact of critical, global issues be honored by the Robert F. Kennedy Awards,” says Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE. “We share the recognition of our reporting on the October 7 Hamas attack and the war in Gaza with our intrepid filmmakers Robin Barnwell and Toby Fitzpatrick, as well as the recognition of our reporting on South Korean adoptions with reporters Kim Tong-hyung, Claire Galofaro and our editorial partners at the AP.”

The RFK Book and Journalism Awards, given annually by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, recognizes outstanding reporting on human rights and social justice issues.

Explore the award-winning projects below: 

A Year of War: Israelis and Palestinians (Credits)

Korea Adoption Series (Digital Stories)

Robert Calabretta holds his baby photo from before he was adopted out of South Korea to a family in the United States, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at his apartment in New York.

“Who Am I, Then?” (Digital Interactive)