Dateline NBC
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| Dateline NBC | |
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| Genre | newsmagazine |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including commercials) |
| Starring | Stone Phillips (1992–present) Ann Curry (2005–present) Jane Pauley (1992–2003) |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | 1992–Present |
| IMDb profile | |
Dateline NBC is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC similar to ABC's 20/20 or CBS's 60 Minutes. The show, which has aired since 1992, is currently hosted by Stone Phillips and Ann Curry. Curry first co-hosted on June 24, 2005. Jane Pauley previously co-hosted. Tom Brokaw, Matt Lauer, and Brian Williams are among the NBC News correspondents who occasionally file stories for the program. Contributing Anchors were Maria Shriver who left the job soon after her husband became governor of California in 2004. Katie Couric was also a contributing anchor until 2006, when she left NBC News. The program first originated from NBC Studio 3K, using the same set the NBC Nightly News was using at the time. When The Today Show moved to its current sidewalk studio, Dateline took over Studio 3B with a brand-new set. One of Dateline's most noteworthy investigations has been To Catch a Predator, a series of hidden-camera stings focused on catching sexual predators.
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[edit] Comparison with other news magazines
Unlike the other newsmagazines, Dateline has more of a focus on human interest stories and stories of interest to women, and less emphasis on investigative journalism. Common features include Dateline: Survivor, where a person talks about their near death experience and rescue; Dateline: Timeline, where a popular product, person, and music single are played and viewers are invited to guess what year it appeared in; State of the Art, explaining how something was technically accomplished in a movie; Consumer Alert, where common consumer complaints or issues, such as food safety, are investigated, and Newsmakers, light interviews of major figures in politics, entertainment, and business, as well as regular people in the news. The Saturday night edition of the program now focuses on crime stories. NBC News specials also air under the Dateline banner. These specials often have more of an investigative focus.
[edit] Dateline NBC Staff
- Stone Phillips
- Ann Curry
- Victoria Corderi
- Chris Hansen
- Sara James
- Hoda Kotb
- John Larson
- Josh Mankiewicz
- Keith Morrison
- Dennis Murphy
- Lea Thompson
[edit] Controversy
On February 18, 1993, Dateline NBC aired an investigative report about General Motors pickup trucks allegedly exploding upon impact during accidents due to poor design of fuel tanks. Although there were fuel tank design problems with GM cars before, Dateline's film showed a sample of a low speed accident with the fuel tank exploding. In reality, Dateline NBC producers had rigged the truck with remotely detonated explosives. The program did not disclose the fact that the accident was staged. GM investigators studied the film, and discovered that smoke actually came out of the fuel tank a split-second before impact. GM subsequently filed an anti-defamation lawsuit against NBC. It was quickly settled by NBC, and Jane Pauley read an apology on the program.
The following Dateline NBC producers were dismissed: Jeff Diamond, executive producer; David Rummel, senior producer; and Robert Read, producer of the report on the pickups. Michele Gillen, the reporter involved in the segment, was transferred to Miami station WTVJ. Michael G. Gartner, president of the news division, resigned under pressure.
Although the incident was staged it inspired many highly publicized lawsuits, and GM greatly reduced the fuel capacity of their trucks as a result. The family featured in the segment, who lost a son after a GM truck caught fire, won their lawsuit against the company. The publicity also drove other automotive companies to make similar changes. Aftermarket (automotive) fuel tank producers lost sales. Today it's almost impossible to improve a truck's fuel range by adding a tank that is designed to be mounted under the vehicle.
Dateline NBC was perceived as quickly returning to business-as-usual in a May 4, 1993 piece titled "Cataract Cowboys" in which Brian Ross claimed that doctors unnecessarily performed surgery on elderly patients. The controversy brought into question techniques used such as disregarding evidence that contradicts a story's premise and using planted accomplices to entrap targets of the story. NBC claimed vindication when Southeastern Eye Center dropped their lawsuit over the story.
[edit] International broadcasts
MSNBC and NBC News programming is shown for several hours a day on the 24 hour news network Orbit News in Europe and the Middle East. This includes Dateline NBC and several other shows.
