Editing Frontline (American TV program)

{{Short description|PBS investigative journalism program}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Frontline Logo 2020.svg
| creator              = [[David Fanning (journalist)|David Fanning]]
| narrated             = [[Will Lyman]]
| executive_producer   = David Fanning (1983–2015)<br />[[Raney Aronson-Rath]] (2015–present)
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| company              = [[WGBH-TV]]
| network              = [[PBS]]
| first_aired          = {{start date|1983|1|17}}
| last_aired           = present
| num_seasons          = 43
| num_episodes         = 827
| list_episodes        = List of Frontline (American TV program) episodes
| related              = ''[[Nova (American TV program)|Nova]]''
| presenter            = [[Martin Smith (documentarian)|Martin Smith]] et al.
| producer             = Martin Smith et al.
}}
'''''Frontline''''' (stylized in all capital letters) is an [[Investigative journalism|investigative]] [[Documentary film|documentary]] program distributed by the [[PBS|Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)]] in the United States. Episodes are produced at [[WGBH Educational Foundation|WGBH]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. The series has covered a [[List of Frontline (PBS) episodes|variety of domestic and international issues]], including terrorism,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/foreign-affairs-defense/my-brothers-bomber/u-s-and-scotland-eye-two-new-suspects-in-lockerbie-bombing/|title=U.S. and Scotland Eye Two New Suspects In Lockerbie Bombing|work=Frontline |access-date=April 4, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> elections,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Choice|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-choice/|access-date=December 12, 2020|website=Frontline |language=en-US}}</ref> environmental disasters,<ref>{{Citation|title=Frontline {{!}} The Spill {{!}} Season 2010 {{!}} Episode 15|url=https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-the-spill/|language=en|access-date=December 12, 2020}}</ref> and other sociopolitical issues.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/about-us/impact/|title=Impact|work=Frontline |access-date=April 4, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> Since its debut in 1983, ''Frontline'' has aired in the U.S. for 42 seasons, and has won critical acclaim and awards in broadcast journalism. In 2024, ''Frontline'' won its first Oscar at the [[96th Academy Awards]] for [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film|Best Documentary Feature]], ''[[20 Days in Mariupol]]'', made by a team of AP Ukrainian journalists. ''Frontline'' has produced over 800 documentaries from both in-house and independent filmmakers, 200 of which are available online.

==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>

== Production ==
The show is produced by the [[WGBH Educational Foundation]], the parent company of [[WGBH-TV]] in Boston, which is solely responsible for its content. WGBH is the creator of the Documentary Consortium, with another four PBS stations, including [[WNET]] in New York and [[KCTS]] in Seattle.

In 2015, the creator and founding executive producer of ''Frontline'', David Fanning, retired after more than 32 years as executive producer of the program, and [[Raney Aronson-Rath]] succeeded him in senior grade. Fanning, however, remains [[editor-at-large]] of ''Frontline'' as a founding member.

On September 14, 2017, the program launched its first-ever [[podcast]] called ''The Frontline Dispatch''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FRONTLINE, PBS and WGBH's Acclaimed Investigative Documentary Series, Launches New Podcast, The FRONTLINE Dispatch |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/announcement/frontline-pbs-and-wgbhs-acclaimed-investigative-documentary-series-launches-new-podcast-the-frontline-dispatch/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=FRONTLINE |language=en-US}}</ref> The podcast is a production of [[PBS]] and [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]] in Boston alongside [[Public Radio Exchange|PRX]].

==''Frontline/World''==
<!-- Frontline/World and Frontline World redirect to this heading -->
''Frontline/World'' is a [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] program from ''Frontline'', first transmitted on May 23, 2002, which was transmitted four to eight times a year on ''Frontline'' until it was canceled in 2010. It focused on issues from around the globe, and used a "magazine" format, where each hour-long episode typically had three stories that ran about 15 to 20 minutes in length. Its tagline was: ''Stories from a small planet''.

Initially a co-production of [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]], Boston and [[KQED-TV|KQED]], San Francisco, ''Frontline/World'' was later based in part at the [[UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism|University of California Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism]], where the program's producers recruited a new generation of reporters and producers to the ''Frontline'' program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Frontline-World-video-journalists-bring-world-2497618.php|title='Frontline/World' video journalists bring world to Web|work=[[SFGate]]|date=October 11, 2007|access-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref>

''Frontline/World'' also streamed stories on its website, which won two [[Webby awards]] in 2008 for its original program of online videos called "Rough Cuts". In 2005, the [[Overseas Press Club of America]] gave the program its [[Edward R. Murrow Award (OPC)|Edward R. Murrow Award]] for the best TV coverage of international events, citing producers David Fanning, [[Stephen Talbot]], Sharon Tiller and Ken Dornstein. The program broke new ground in 2007 by winning two [[News & Documentary Emmy Award|Emmys]]; one of these was for a broadcast story, "Saddam's Road to Hell", and the other was for an online video, "Libya: Out of the Shadow".

== Critical reception ==
''Frontline'' has received generally positive reviews from television critics. [[David Zurawik]] of ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' wrote that the episode "Inside the Meltdown", was "one of the finest hours of non-fiction TV that I have seen."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2009-02-60_minutes_world_savings_pelle-story.html|title=60 Minutes goes after crooked mortgage brokers|last=Zurawik|first=David|date=February 15, 2009|website=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> Vern Gay of ''[[Newsday]]'' wrote that "The Card Game" episode, "bores down to the hard, cold truth" and is "journalism at its best."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/frontline-s-card-game-a-matter-of-life-and-debt-1.1613852|title='Frontline's' 'Card Game': A matter of life and debt|last=Gay|first=Vern|date=November 20, 2009|website=Newsday|language=en|access-date=December 7, 2019}}</ref> Tom Brinkmoeller of ''TV Worth Watching'' called it, "Indispensable."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brinkmoeller |first=Tom |date=2012-12-18 |title=PBS Station Head Assesses Landscape Following Recent Assault on Public TV |url=http://www.tvworthwatching.com/post/PBS-Shapiro.aspx |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=TV Worth Watching}}</ref> Sean Gregory of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' wrote about the episode, "[[League of Denial]]", that it was "a first-rate piece of reporting."<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/10/07/new-book-and-pbs-documentary-details-nfls-concussion-denial/|title=New Book, and PBS Documentary, Details NFL's Concussion Denial|last=Gregory|first=Sean|date=October 7, 2013|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=December 7, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> David Zurawik of ''The Baltimore Sun'' wrote about the episode "The Rise of ISIS", that it was "superb and daring work."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/zurawik/bal-frontline-chilling-revealing-look-isis-pbs-20141028-story.html|title=Frontline offers harrowing, revealing look into ISIS tonight|last=Zurawik|first=David|date=October 28, 2014|website=Baltimore Sun|access-date=December 7, 2019}}</ref> Alasdair Wilkins of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' wrote, "hardest-hitting show on television."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/as-baseball-reaches-its-climax-basketball-begins-1798285851|title=As baseball reaches its climax, basketball begins|last=Wilkins|first=Alasdair|date=October 27, 2015|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|language=en-us|access-date=December 7, 2019}}</ref> [[Margaret Sullivan (journalist)|Margaret Sullivan]], the media columnist of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote for the episode, "The Choice 2016", "utterly-fair and completely riveting."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/it-wasnt-all-bad-here-were-the-medias-13-best-moments-of-campaign-2016/2016/11/04/98d3811a-a1eb-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html|title=It wasn't all bad: Here were the media's 13 best moments of Campaign 2016|last=Sullivan|first=Margaret|date=November 6, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=December 7, 2019}}</ref> Vern Gay of ''[[Newsday]]'' wrote that the show is "authoritative and comprehensive."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/putin-s-revenge-review-not-much-new-in-look-at-u-s-russia-saga-1.14600377|title='Putin's Revenge' doesn't break new ground|last=Gay|first=Vern|date=October 24, 2017|website=Newsday|language=en|access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> David Zurawik of ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' wrote that the episode "Trump's Showdown", "is as good as long-form, non-fiction television gets."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/zurawik/bs-fe-zontv-trump-showdown-frontline-pbs-20180926-story.html|title=Frontline takes on biggest story line in American life with 'Trump's Showdown'|author-link=David Zurawik |last=Zurawik|first=David|date=September 28, 2018|website=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> Chris Barton of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote for the episode, "The Facebook Dilemma" that ''Frontline'' has a "well-earned reputation for unflinching, in-depth examinations of social issues and current events."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-pbs-frontline-facebook-tca-20180731-story.html|title=PBS 'Frontline' special 'The Facebook Dilemma' outpaces the scary stories on other networks|last=Barton|first=Chris|date=July 31, 2018|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' wrote for the episode, "[[The Choice 2020]]", "Beyond spin...thoughtful [and] in-depth."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-22 |title=FRONTLINE's Critically Acclaimed Series, "The Choice," Returns Tonight for Key 2020 Election Insight |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/frontlines-critically-acclaimed-series-the-choice-returns-tonight-for-key-2020-election-insight |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}</ref>

==Awards and results==
[[File:The crew of FRONTLINE United States of Secrets at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards.jpg|thumb|right|The crew of ''Frontline''{{'}}s "United States of Secrets" (2014), at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards]]

Other ''Frontline'' reports focus on political, social, and criminal justice issues. [[Ofra Bikel]], who has been a producer for ''Frontline'' since the first season, has produced a significant number of films on the [[criminal justice]] system in the United States. The films have focused on issues ranging from post-conviction [[DNA testing]], the use of [[informant|drug snitches]] and [[Mandatory sentencing|mandatory minimum sentencing laws]], the [[plea]] system, and the use of eyewitness testimony. As a result of the films, 13 people have been released from prison.

After the [[September 11 attacks]], the [[White House]] requested a copy of "Hunting Bin Laden". In 1999, ''Frontline'' had produced this in-depth report about [[Osama bin Laden]] and the [[terrorism|terrorist]] network that would come to be known as [[Al-Qaeda]] in the wake of the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]]. Following the September 11 attacks, ''Frontline'' produced a series of films about Al-Qaeda and the [[War on Terrorism]]. In 2002, the program was awarded the [[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award|DuPont-Columbia]] gold baton for the seven films.

In 2003, ''Frontline'' and ''[[The New York Times]]'' joined forces on "A Dangerous Business", an investigation led by reporter [[Lowell Bergman]] into the [[cast iron]] pipe making industry and worker safety. [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration|OSHA]] officials credit the documentary and newspaper report with stimulating federal policy change on workplace safety. In 2004, the joint investigation was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize for Public Service]].

Producer [[Michael Kirk]]'s ''Frontline'' documentaries have won multiple awards. These films include "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis" ([[Peabody Award]], 2013),<ref>[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/frontline-league-of-denial-the-nfls-concussion-crisis-pbs 73rd Annual Peabody Awards], May 2014.</ref> "Cheney's Law" (Peabody Award, 2007),<ref>[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/frontline-cheneys-law 66th Annual Peabody Awards], May 2007.</ref> "The Lost Year in Iraq" ([[Emmy Award]], 2006), "The Torture Question" (Emmy Award, 2005), "The Kevorkian File" (Emmy Award), and "Waco: The Inside Story" (Peabody Award).<ref>[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/frontline-waco-the-inside-story 54th Annual Peabody Awards], May 1995.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Us: producer Michael Kirk|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/us/kirk.html|publisher=PBS Frontline|year=2009|access-date=February 17, 2010}}</ref>

Director [[Martin Smith (documentarian)|Martin Smith]] has produced dozens of films for ''Frontline'', and won both Emmy and Writers Guild of America awards. His 2000 film ''Drug Wars'' was the winner of the Outstanding Background/Analysis of a Single Current Story Emmy and the George Foster Peabody Award.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rain Media: Awards|url=http://rainmedia.net/awards|work=[[Rain Media]]|year=2008|access-date=February 17, 2010}}</ref> Additionally, ''Separated: Children at the Border'', for which he was writer and correspondent, also won a 2018 [[Peabody Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/2018-peabody-award-winners-78th-annual-peabody-30|title=The Best Stories of 2018|date=June 24, 2019 |access-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref>

Other notable producers of multiple ''Frontline'' documentaries have included Sherry Jones, [[Marian Marzynski]], [[Miri Navasky]], Karen O'Connor, June Cross, Neil Docherty, [[Stephen Talbot]], [[Raney Aronson-Rath]], [[Rachel Dretzin]],<ref>
*{{cite web |last1=Chapman |first1=C. C. |title=Rachel Dretzin |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/cc_chapman/3554024176/ |website=flickr |access-date=30 July 2022 |date=21 May 2009}}
*{{cite web |title=Rachel Dretzin, Producer, PBS Frontline/Digital Nation |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/3677154710/ |author1=kjarrett |website=flickr |access-date=30 July 2022 |date=30 June 2009}}
*{{cite web |last1=Galella |first1=Ron |author1-link=Ron Galella |title=Rachel Dretzin and Barak Goodman attend 59th Annual Peabody Awards |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rachel-dretzin-and-barak-goodman-attend-59th-annual-peabody-news-photo/171616183 |website=Getty Images |date=June 27, 2013 |access-date=30 July 2022 |language=en-us |quote=Rachel Dretzin and Barak Goodman attend 59th Annual Peabody Awards on May 22, 2000 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.}}
</ref> James Jacoby<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-facebook-dilemma|title=The Facebook Dilemma|access-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref> and Rick Young.

As of July 2016, ''Frontline'' has won a total of 75 Emmy Awards<ref>{{cite press release|author=Paddonio, Patrice|title=Frontline Wins Six Emmy Awards|work=Frontline |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/frontline-wins-six-emmy-awards/|date=April 26, 2016|access-date=August 1, 2016}}</ref> and 18 Peabody Awards.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/frontline-wins-peabody-award-for-isis-in-afghanistan/ |title=Frontline Wins Peabody Award for 'ISIS in Afghanistan'|work=Frontline |author=Paddonio, Patrice|date=September 29, 2015|access-date=August 1, 2016}}</ref> In 2020, ''Frontline'' was also awarded an Institutional Peabody Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/peabody-30-winners|title=Peabody 30 Winners|access-date=June 25, 2020}}</ref>

In 2022, ''Frontline'' won four awards in the [[43rd News and Documentary Emmy Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-28 |title=PBS wins 6 News and Documentary Emmys® (Press Release) |url=https://www.pbs.org/articles/pbs-nominated-for-30-news-and-documentary-emmy-awards |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=PBS |language=en}}</ref>

==Episodes==
{{main|List of Frontline (American TV program) episodes}}

==See also==
*[[Timothy Grucza]], an award-winning cinematographer for ''Frontline''
*[[Guy Lawson]], a contributor to ''Frontline''
*[[List of programs broadcast by PBS]]
*''[[Wide Angle (TV series)|Wide Angle]]''

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/}}
* {{YouTube|c=frontline|''Frontline''}}
* [https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/ ''Frontline/World'']
* {{IMDb title|0133302}}
* {{Cite news |last1=Lowry |first1=Brian |title=Review: 'Frontline: When Kids Get Life'; 'Frontline: Spying on the Home Front' (Documentary—PBS, Tue. May 8, 9 p.m.) |url=https://variety.com/2007/tv/reviews/frontline-1200558474/ <!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20071006144511/http://www.variety.com:80/review/VE1117933939.html?categoryid=32&cs=1 https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933939.html --> |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=June 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215041454/https://variety.com/2007/tv/reviews/frontline-1200558474/ |archive-date=February 15, 2021 |url-status=live}}

{{Frontline (American TV program)|state=expanded}}
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