EWARK August 13, 2024 – Award-winning journalist Michael Aron passed away this week at the age of 78. Known for a majority of his career as a trusted reporter of New Jersey politics, Aron was a fixture in the Trenton press corps and respected by those representatives he scrutinized on both sides of the aisle.

“Few journalists ever garner the widespread level of respect Michael Aron achieved,” said Neal Shapiro, The WNET Group President & CEO. “He earned it with an unbiased, methodical and unwavering investigative style examining the issues, policies and stakeholders affecting state residents. He was one of a kind and will be missed; however his standards and practices live on in the NJ Spotlight News newsroom and continue to inspire our staff today.”

“Michael Aron was a tremendous mentor in our newsroom and a shining example of how a serious and often tough reporter could pursue the facts but also be kind,” said NJ Spotlight News Senior Managing Editor Jamie Kraft. “He knew everybody in Trenton and was a walking Rolodex of contacts and facts that we depended on throughout his tenure here. We are proud to carry on the legacy of the ‘Dean of the State House Press Corps’.”

“Michael Aron will always be remembered for his formidable questions and quick wit. But it’s his warmth, mentorship, and generosity of time that I’ll hold close to my heart,” said NJ Spotlight News anchor Briana Vannozzi. “His legacy endures in the countless journalists he’s inspired to pursue the truth. I’m so honored to have called him a colleague and a cherished friend.”

“Michael Aron was a Titan,” said former NJ PBS news anchor Mary Alice Williams. “He was a soft-spoken, hard-hitting journalist who set the standards of integrity and grit for generations of young reporters who aspired to give voice to the issues of our state and to the disparate communities it serves.  He was also, and always, a gentleman and a very dear friend.  We are all better for the life he lived and deeply saddened by his loss.”

Michael Aron 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 and tenure at NJ Spotlight News, 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.