WGBH President Jonathan Abbott today announced that Raney Aronson-Rath will become the new Executive Producer of FRONTLINE, succeeding David Fanning, who is stepping away from the award-winning investigative documentary series after three decades.

Aronson-Rath, a leading voice on narrative journalism and visual storytelling, has been with FRONTLINE since 2001 and was named Deputy Executive Producer in 2012.

Fanning has served as FRONTLINE’s Executive Producer since founding the series in 1983. Under his leadership over the past 33 seasons, FRONTLINE has built a reputation for powerful investigative storytelling that tackles the toughest, most controversial and complex stories of our times.

“This kind of journalism matters and these hour-long films, 90-minute, two-hour films, the big multi-part series we do become real works of record,” Fanning told The New York Times today. “We need them in the culture.”

Aronson, who was named Deputy Executive Producer of FRONTLINE in 2012 and first began working with the series in 2001, said that she is inspired by Fanning’s legacy, partnership, and mentorship, and that she is honored to guide FRONTLINE’s future.

“When I look to the future, my biggest gaze is on making sure we always protect the big important work we should be doing,” Aronson-Rath told The New York Times. “That is what I care about most: Protecting the big important journalism.”

Read the full announcement from WGBH and FRONTLINE here.

Patrice Taddonio, Senior Digital Writer, FRONTLINE

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@ptaddonio