Editing Frontline (American TV program) (section)

==Format==
The program debuted in 1983, with NBC anchorwoman [[Jessica Savitch]] as the show's first host, but Savitch died later after the first-season finale. ''[[PBS NewsHour]]''{{'}}s [[Judy Woodruff]] took over as host in 1984, and hosted the program for five years, combining her job with a sub-anchor place on ''The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour'' when Jim Lehrer was away. In 1990, episodes of ''Frontline'' began airing without a host, and the narrator was left to introduce each episode.

Most ''Frontline'' reports are an hour in length, but some are extended to 90 minutes, two hours, or beyond. ''Frontline'' also produces and transmits such occasional specials as ''From Jesus to Christ'', ''[[The Farmer's Wife (1998 film)|The Farmer's Wife]]'', and ''[[Country Boys]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion|publisher=PBS|work=Frontline|date=April 6, 1998|access-date=February 17, 2010}}</ref>

Since 1995, ''Frontline'' has been producing deep-content, companion web sites for all of its documentaries. The program publishes extended interview transcripts, in-depth chronologies, original essays, sidebar stories, related links and readings, and source documents including photographs and background research. ''Frontline'' has made many of its documentaries available via streaming Internet video, from its website.

[[Will Lyman]] is the distinctive voice who has narrated most of the installments of the program since its inception in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitethroat.com/|title=Will Lyman :: Actor|work=whitethroat.com|access-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref> However, certain reports have been narrated by [[David Ogden Stiers]] and [[Peter Berkrot]] or by correspondents who appear on screen.

=== "The Choice" ===
Since 1988, ''Frontline'' has also aired "The Choice": a special edition aired during the lead-up to the [[United States presidential election|presidential election]] every four years, focusing on the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidates contending for the office of [[President of the United States]]. An installment aired on October 14, 2008, using a dual-biography format for [[Barack Obama]] and [[John McCain]]. The 2008 documentary, produced by [[Michael Kirk]], generated favorable reviews from ''[[The New York Times]]'', which stated that the program helped viewers "gain perspective" about the "idea-oriented campaign",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/arts/television/14deci.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 13, 2008|access-date=July 3, 2010|title=The Past Parts of the Present Campaign|first=Neil|last=Genzlinger}}</ref> and ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', which labeled it "refreshingly clear" and "informative".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-oct-14-et-choice14-story.html|date=October 14, 2008|title=A refreshingly clear 'Choice'|first=Mary|last=McNamara|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=July 3, 2010}}</ref>

A subsequent episode aired on October 9, 2012, and featured the same dual biography tracing the lives and careers of incumbent President Barack Obama and his challenger, [[Mitt Romney]]. The following episode aired on September 27, 2016, and featured the biography of [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Donald Trump]]. "The Choice 2024" is the most recent installment and aired on September 24, 2024, featuring [[Kamala Harris]] and Donald Trump.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 24, 2024 |title=The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/the-choice-2024-harris-vs-trump/ |access-date=January 17, 2025 |website=pbs.org}}</ref>