NEWARK, NJ — The New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists has renamed its Reporter of the Year Award to honor longtime NJ PBS and NJN reporter Michael Aron.
The NJ SPJ Board of Directors voted unanimously at its January 16 meeting to rename the award for Aron, a legendary reporter for public television in New Jersey over the course of four decades. Aron died August 13 at age 78.
NJ-SPJ says its 2025 contest will begin to accept entries on Feb. 19.
“For more than four decades, Michael dedicated his career to informing the Garden State on public television. He could have crossed the Hudson to New York, or the Delaware back to his native Philadelphia, but he stayed in the Garden State,” said SPJ President P. Kenneth Burns. “If anyone embodies the qualities we look for in our Reporter of the Year, it is the dean of the state house press corps, Michael Aron. We hope this modest gesture on our part will let all the people who loved and respected Michael know what a towering influence he has been on journalism in New Jersey and beyond.”
Biography of Michael Aron from NJ PBS
Michael Aron was an award-winning journalist who served as chief political correspondent for New Jersey public television news organizations for over four decades, including NJ Spotlight News, the news division of NJ PBS, its predecessor NJTV News and the former New Jersey Network (NJN)). He semi-retired in 2020 but continued to report on elections and other special coverage for NJ Spotlight News. Throughout his career, Aron interviewed every New Jersey governor, state Supreme Court chief justice and legislative leader, plus several presidential candidates. He covered national political conventions, trade missions abroad and all the major political issues of the state. He also contributed to such esteemed national and local outlets as Harper’s Magazine, Rolling Stone and New Jersey Monthly.
Adding to his distinguished career, Aron was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in New Jersey Journalism at the inaugural Byrne Kean Dinner in 2021 and the League of Municipalities’ Distinguished Public Service Award in 2015, while also consistently ranking in the Top 10 on the PolitickerNJ and InsiderNJ Power Lists.
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