Dateline NBC
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dateline NBC | |
 |
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| Format | Newsmagazine |
|---|---|
| Starring | Ann Curry (2005-present) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 1,606 (as of January 20, 2007) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including commercials) |
| Production company(s) | Peacock Productions, a unit of NBC News |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original run | March 31, 1992 – Present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC similar to ABC's 20/20 or CBS's 60 Minutes.
Contents |
[edit] History
Dateline NBC is notable for its longevity on the network. Prior to Dateline, NBC had failed with 20 different TV news magazine programs. The show, which has aired since 1992, is currently anchored by Ann Curry and occasionally by Hoda Kotb. Curry first co-anchored on June 24, 2005. Stone Phillips and Jane Pauley previously co-anchored. Tom Brokaw, Matt Lauer, and Brian Williams are among the NBC News correspondents who occasionally file stories for the program. Contributing Anchors were Bryant Gumbel who left NBC in 1997, 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. Dateline was broadcast in High Definition for the first time on Monday, July 21, 2008. However, future airings of Dateline are not tagged as HDTV broadcasts on NBC's schedule online.
[edit] Comparison with other news magazines
Much like other newsmagazines, Dateline programming includes investigative journalism, true crime, and human interest stories. Common segments feature 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 Dateline features special emphasis on true crime stories programming, which has been named Dateline Saturday Night and includes the "To Catch a Predator" series. NBC News specials also air under the Dateline banner.
[edit] Controversies
[edit] Quixtar
In 2004, Dateline NBC aired a report, alleging that some high-level Quixtar Independent Business Operators (IBOs) make most of their money from selling motivational materials, rather than Quixtar products, and make unrealistic claims about potential income.[1] Quixtar declined to respond on camera, instead publishing an official Quixtar Response website.[2] Quixtar states on its response site that Dateline declined their request to link to the site. Another response page can be found at [1]
[edit] General Motors
Dateline NBC aired an investigative report about General Motors pickup trucks allegedly exploding upon impact during accidents due to poor design of fuel tanks. 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 after conducting an extensive investigation. On February 18, 1993 GM conducted a highly publicized (view broadcast in 1993 section of GM 1990s history) point-by-point rebuttal that lasted nearly two hours after announcing the lawsuit. The lawsuit 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.
[edit] Trapping story targets
Dateline NBC soon returned to the controversy spotlight via 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 claim and using planted accomplices to entrap targets of the story. The Southeastern Eye Center attempted to sue NBC over the story, but later dropped the suit altogether.
[edit] St. Louis Helicopter Hijack Attempt
On August 11, 2004, two Dateline NBC employees posing as terrorists entered St. Louis Downtown Airport and attempted to gain access to a helicopter and pilot. They attempted to pay for a flight using cash and presented out-of-state driver licenses. The airport personnel suspected foul play and contacted the FBI and local authorities, who responded to the scene and detained the NBC crew. Searches of the NBC crew's rental car revealed an assortment of hijacking tools including box-cutters of the type used in the September 11, 2001 attacks and audio tapes of conversations with the airport employees. After being taken into custody, the NBC crew revealed their identities and told investigators that Dateline NBC was planning a story highlighting failures in general aviation airport security and the threat posed by private aircraft as a vector for terrorist attack. The NBC crew were subsequently released with no charges filed against them. Dateline NBC killed the story and it was never aired. [3] [4]
[edit] To Catch a Predator
The "To Catch a Predator" Dateline series hosted by Chris Hansen has been accused of making news rather than reporting news, blurring the line between being a news organization vs. an agency of law enforcement[5], and having its host impersonating a police officer [6].
The sting operation begins with recordings of internet chats with "decoys" from Perverted-Justice, posing as teenagers under the age of consent. "To Catch a Predator" videotapes men who attempt to meet the "children" in person. As soon as the target is inside the "sting" house, Hansen confronts them and asks them about the internet chats they had with the decoy. After being confronted by Hansen, who usually asks them to "Take a seat, right over there, just take a seat", the men are arrested by local police. [7].
[edit] DEFCON
During the 15th DEFCON hacker conference, Dateline producer Michelle Madigan failed to register as a reporter and used a hidden camera to covertly film attendees, apparently intending to catch hackers admitting to crimes[8]. On four[8] occasions, DEFCON staff asked her if she wanted to obtain press credentials, but she declined. On August 3, 2007, DEFCON founder Jeff Moss publicly outed Madigan during the "Spot the Reporter" contest, and Madigan ran from the room with several attendees trailing her, taking pictures and video [9]. A DEFCON source at NBC had tipped off organizers to Madigan's plans.[10]
[edit] Dateline NBC Staff
ANCHORS
- Ann Curry (2005–present)
CONTRIBUTING ANCHORS
- Tom Brokaw (1994–present)
- Brian Williams (2004–present)
- Matt Lauer (1997–present)
- Meredith Vieira (2006–present)
- Al Roker (2005–present)
- Natalie Morales (2006–present)
- Lisa Myers
CORRESPONDENTS
- Victoria Corderi
- Chris Hansen
- Sara James
- Hoda Kotb (1998–present)
- Josh Mankiewicz (1995–present)
- Keith Morrison (1995–present)
- Dennis Murphy
- Lester Holt (2006–present)
- Amy Robach (2007–present)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
- David Corvo
UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATORS/REPORTERS
- Michelle Madigan
FORMER CO-ANCHORS
- Stone Phillips (1992–2007)
- Jane Pauley (1992–2003)
FORMER CONTRIBUTING ANCHORS
- Katie Couric (1994–2006)
- Maria Shriver (1992–2003)
- Bryant Gumbel (1992–1997)
[edit] International broadcasts
NBC affiliates are widely available in Canada, and 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. It is also broadcast on the Seven Network in Australia on Sundays at 5am but is pre-empted by paid programming on regional affiliates Prime Television and Golden West Network..
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Dateline NBC report on Quixtar
- ^ official Quixtar Response website in response to Dateline NBC
- ^ Aero-News Network article.
- ^ Aero-News Network follow-up.
- ^ "The Shame Game", Columbia Journalism Review, January-February 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2008
- ^ Perverting Justice for the Sake of Ratings" by David Anderson, Counterpunch.com, February 7, 2008. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
- ^ "Prosecutor Kills Himself in Texas Raid Over Child Sex", by Tim Eaton, New York Times, November 7, 2006. Retrieved February 9, 2008
- ^ a b Dateline Mole Allegedly at DefCon with Hidden Camera - Updated: Mole Caught on Tape | Threat Level from Wired.com
- ^ Youtube footage
- ^ Zetter, Kim (3 August 2007). ""Dateline Mole Allegedly at DefCon with Hidden Camera -- Updated: Mole Caught on Tape"". Wired Blog Network. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/08/media-mole-at-d.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
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